Past After the End
by canagg
Summary: Someone wants a summary so here ya go you jerks: Edward returns to Winry six months after he left her. Post Brotherhood. EdxWin. Rated T for future chapters that might go under that category. I'm updating as fast as I can. Live with it. NOW READ IT! YOU KNOW YOU WANNA! REAAAADDDD! R&R!
1. Returning

**Chapter 1**

Winry sat at her desk tinkering on an automail leg with Den sleeping at her feet. She's been working all day on trying to make it as one hundred percent perfect as was possible. Finally, she wiped her forehead with the back of her hand while looking over her work.

"Perfect! This is my best work ever!" Her eyes gleamed with self approval and pride. She gently ran her fingers over the gleaming metal leg she made for Edward. Even though he was no longer a state alchemist, he was bound to get into some kind of trouble and need a new leg, as reckless as he is.

It's been over six months since Edward and Alphonse left to research more about alchemy and alkahestry. While Alphonse has sent at least one letter every week and called once, Edward has been more negligent of Pikako and Winry. He had only sent one letter that really only said that he was alive, and that was over two months ago! Even though he's the older brother, Edward is the least responsible of the two.

"Stupid Ed..." Winry mumbled to herself as she wrapped up the leg.

Winry stood up and stretched from her hours of working on the new leg. Den got up with her and stretched as well. Winry crouched down and began scratching Den behind her ears, getting licks on the cheek as a reward. After another minute of this, Winry stood back up and walked down to the livingroom. Granny was gone visiting an old friend for the day and was going to stay overnight there, and since no one was scheduled for an appointment today, Winry was bored out of her mind.

So she grabbed a random book about automail off the bookshelf and stretched herself out on the couch to read it for a while. But after a while, she fell asleep.

Winry woke up to find that it was nearly dark outside. The last bit of sun asw just about to go below the horizon.

"Great. I'm awake just in time to go to bed." Winry mumblesd. Even though she slept for several hours, she was still exhausted.

Winry sat up on the couch and yawned while stretching her arms up high, her black tank top moving to barely show her belly button. She got up and walked into the kitchen to grab a glass of water. When she's done, she refilled Den's food and water bowls. Den waged her tail at her before lapping up some water, droplets spilling over the edge of the bowl.

"Night, Den." Winry patted Den on the head one last time before heading up to her bedroom. By then it was completely dark but she didn't bother to turn on any lights. She knows this house so well she can find anything she needs with a blindfold covering her eyes.

Winry reachedthe top of the stairs without any mishap. When she opened her bedroom door, she heard the familiar creak that comes with it. Without bothering to change, she plopped herself down on her bed.

Almost on her bed, that is.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" A man's voice, the man she had just laid on, yelled as he sat upright, throwing her off the bed.

"ACKKKKK!" Winry instinctively ran to her nearby desk and grabbed the wrench she had sitting on it, throwing it at the man in her bedroom. She was rewarded with the satisfying sound of the wrench hitting her target with a big _CLUNK!_

"Oh, damn!" The stranger was thrown back down on the bed by the force of the wrench.

Winry ran over and turned on the lights to get a better view of the intruder.

"Six months and you haven't lost your touch for throwing that damn thing..." The intruder was sitting up again, brushing aside his golden locks of hair and rubbing where the wrench had done its toll.

That voice... it sounded familiar... "Ed?" Winry ventured, taking a few steps to the side to be able to see his face.

Edward looked up at Winry, his golden eyes squinted in pain. He smiled at her. "Hi, Win-"

"ED!" Winry cut him off as she tackled him with a hug, making them both topple over on the bed.

Ed felt his face grow hot as Winry laid on top of him, her head buried in his shoulder with her arms wrapped around his chest.

Before Ed could react, however, Winry had jumped up and grabbed her wrench again.

_WHACK!_

"WHY DIDN'T YOU CALL OR WRITE?! ME AND GRANNY WERE WORRIED SICK OVER YOU?!"

"Winry-" Ed sat up again and rubbed his head

_WHACK!_

"WHEN YOU LEFT YOU SAID YOU WOULD CALL WHEN YOU WERE GOING TO COME BACK HOME, BUT YOU NEVER EVEN CALLED ONCE! ALL WE GOT WAS ONE STUPID LETTER THAT BARELY EVEN SAID YOU WERE ALIVE!"

_WHACK!_

"AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY BED?!"

"STOP TRYING TO KILL ME FOR A MINUTE AND LET ME EXPLAIN, WINRY!" Edward sat up on the bed again.

"YOU COULD HAVE CALLED ONCE TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT! YOU ONLY EVER COME HOME FOR AUTOMAIL REPAIRS AND-" Winry stopped in the middle of her rant. She had automatically looked down at Ed's automail leg.

Actually, she looked down where it was _supposed_ to be.

Winry reached out and poked Ed's left pant leg with her wrench, just to be sure that it was really gone.

Her wrench ended up poking the soft bed through his pant fabric.

"Winry..." Ed slowly scooched backwards on the bed away from the boiling mechanic in front of him.

"YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE TRAVELING AND RESEARCHING! NOT GETTING INTO FIGHTS! ALL OF MY PRECIOUS AUTOMAIL IS GONE!"

"IT WAS AN ACCIDENT, OK?!" Ed tried to explain himself.

"AN ACCIDENT?! HOW DO YOU 'ACCIDENTALLY' DESTROY YOUR WHOLE LEG?!" Winry's wrench hand was shaking with rage.

"WINRY!" Edward, not wanting another blow with that stupid wrench, automatically reached out and grabbed the hand that was holding the wrench. "Just calm down for a minute, Winry!"

Winry huffed. Then she looked down at her hand. Ed followed her gaze and realize that he was holding her hand! He had done it to stop the wrench, but he hadn't let go!

"Er..." Edward quickly let go of her wrist, his face a deep red.

Winry sighed. He was such an idiot. The last time they had seen each other, he had kind of proposed to her, yet here he was acting like nothing had happened.

Winry's face turned red as well. He...had... proposed to her? Well, yes... it could be viewed as a proposal if you put it in a certain light... or maybe more of him just declaring his love for her... nope. Not better at all.

Winry blinked several times to clear her head. "Well come on then, pipsqueak. We have to get you a new leg."

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A PIPSQUEAK?! NOW I'M TALLER THAN YOU SO YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO SAY THAT!"

"Well at least right now I'm taller than you for the moment." Winry smirked.

It was true as Edward was sitting down and Winry was standing up. But really, Edward had grown much taller than Winry.

"Now come on, we have to get you yet another new leg." Winry sighed.

Edward reached over and grabbed a crutch, leaning against the wall, that Winry hadn't noticed before. Edward put the crutch under his left arm and stood up shakily. Winry led the way to her workshop. Within minutes, Ed was laying down on the table he always lain on in only his boxers. Winry was holding up the leg she had been working on to see if it would fit him. While she was inspecting her handiwork, Ed was trying not to wriggle around nervously. He can't help but remember at the train station when he had left for the west.

He had meant it when he had told Winry he would give her half of his life, but now... he really didn't know what to do. He was no good with words, and really all he knew how to do was fight and alchemy. And he couldn't even do alchemy anymore! And he doubted that fighting would help him solve his problems with his mechanic.

Winry groaned. "What did you do to destroy your entire leg?"

"Seems like you don't really mind since you already had a new leg ready for me." Edward smirked.

"BECAUSE YOU'RE A RECKLESS IDIOT!" Winry slammed the metal leg she was holding down on the table.

"I TOLD YOU! IT WAS AN ACCIDENT! I DIDN'T MEAN TO DESTROY MY LEG! HOW MANY TIMES TO I HAVE TO SAY IT?!" Edward yelled back at her.

"YOU DON'T HAVE ALCHEMY ANYMORE SO YOU SHOULDN'T BE GETTING INTO MORE TROUBLE THAN YOU CAN HANDLE! YOU'RE GOING TO GET YOURSELF KILLED!" As Winry yelled this Edward noticed that her eyes were welling up with tears. He immediately softened.

Edward propped himself up on his elbows. "Winry..." His hand automatically reached out and cupped her face, his thumb gently stroking her cheek. "Don't cry, ok? I'm sorry"

Winry didn't say anything. She nodded her head slightly as she began to silently cry.

Edward brushed away her tears as gently as he could. Her face felt so soft and warm... he hated to see it stained by her tears. Tears _he_ had made her shed.

After a few minutes, Winry looked up at Ed. Somehow he had gotten closer. A _lot_ closer. Now he and Winry were only inches apart. She couldn't help but glance down at his lips, imaging what they would feel against her own...

Den started barking, breaking their trance. Suddenly Ed noticed how close he had gotten. His face turned scarlet as he scooted away, his hand dropping away from Winry's face in embarrassment.

Winry's face immediately felt colder as his warm hand dropped away. She missed the bubble of warmth that he seemed to be surrounding him at all times.

Winry gave Edward a small smile at his embarrassment, then continued working on attaching his automail leg.

"I'm going to connect the nerves." Winry warned him, her hand hovering above the lever. "You ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." Edward balled his hands into fists ahead of time.

After Edward took a deep breath, Winry turned the lever as quickly as possible.

Edward's brow scrunched up in pain and grit is teeth in pain. But amazingly, the only sound he made was a very loud groan that was building up to become a scream. Finally, it was finished. Edward was still in pain, of course, but now he only grit his teeth and gripped the sides of the table.

"You ok?" Winry asked.

"Of course." Edward said sarcastically. "I just got my nerves connected but hey, never better!"

"Oh, shut up already!" Winry would have slapped him or hit him with her wrench, but he was enough pain already.

Then there was an uneasy silence, both of them deep in their thoughts. Unfortunatly, Ed had decided to go into deep thinking while he was looking at Winry, so it seemed like he was staring at her. Winry soon noticed.

"What?" She snapped at him.

"Oh, er... nothing. Sorry." Edward blushed.

Winry rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I'll go get your bedroom ready." She stood up and began to leave.

"Wait!" Winry's hand was about to land on the doorknob. She turned around.

"What, Ed?"

"I'm fine, let me do it." Edward swung his legs over the edge of the table. But as soon as his thigh hit the table a little too hard he grimaced.

"No, I got it." Winry exited the room.

Edward sighed, frustrated. He banged his right hand on the table as hard as he could. Not a smart move as that hand is no longer automail. He groaned, holding his bruised hand. Ed waited another few minutes for the rest of the pain to go away. Then he stood up, got dressed, and walked up to the bedroom where he and Al always stayed.

Winry was just dropping the pillow on top of the neat bed. Ed walked up behind her.

"Winry?"

She jumped and spun around, ready to hit him. When she saw that it was only Ed, she relaxed a bit, but not much. "Yes?"

"Thanks for the leg."

"Yeah. Just..." Winry clenched her fist, being silent for a moment. She sighed as she relaxed her hand. "Be more careful, ok?"

Ed smiled slightly. "I wasn't looking for trouble. Trouble just seems to come to me."

"Yup." Winry wouldn't look Ed in the eye.

Edward could tell that something was bothering his best friend. "Winry. What's the matter?"

She was intent on looking at the floor. She replied in barely a whisper, "you're not going to be here tomorrow morning, are you?"

A sharp intake of breath. Winry scoffed. "I thought so... you never stay."

"Winry..." Edward gently placed his hand under her chin and tilted it up, forcing her to look him in the eye. He could tell that she was about to cry again. "I promise that I'm not leaving tomorrow." Winry looked surprised.

"Y-you have research to do, and plans that you were in the west..."

Edward smiled. "I was going to come back here for a visit soon anyways. When I lost my leg, it just gave me a reason to come sooner. I might even stay longer then I planned to."

Even as a single tear started its way down her face, Winry was smiling as big as she could. Without any warning, she wrapped her arms around Ed in a big hug.

This hug lasted for several minutes without Winry attacking him with her wrench. When they finally let go of each other, it was only because Ed could tell that Winry was falling asleep.

Winry was about to fall down, so Ed helped her, although it was almost carrying her, back to her own bed. She was comfortably under her covers and Ed was leaving the room.

"See you tomorrow, Ed." Winry said softly.

When Ed turned around, Winry was already asleep. He chuckled. "See you tomorrow."

* * *

**I will try to update as soon as I can. But I won't if no one reviews or even reads this story. So R&R! I hope you enjoyed it!**

**Sorry about the past-present tenses being mixed up, but I fixed them!**


	2. Next Day

**Chapter 2**

By the time Winry woke up, the sun was just going up above the horizon. She sat up in bed, her eyes only half open as she looks around her room. All of a sudden her eyes open wide as she smiles. _Ed came home._

With that thought, she immediately got up and grabbed a clean outfit. She walks out into the hall and into the guest bedroom. She had to make sure.

She looked around. Nothing. The room looked the same as it had the day before. No Ed. Winry sighed. _He did leave..._

Or maybe he was never there. It could have just been a dream or something like that. Ed could very well still be somewhere in the west. Of course, he's probably on the way to the west right now if he's not already there.

"He promised..." Winry said quietly to herself. Closing the door behind her, Winry stomps out of the guest room and returns to her workroom. She has to check on something.

She looks for the leg she was working on for Edward yesterday. When she sees it's gone, the situation is proven. Edward _was_ there last night, but he left. Just like he promised not to do.

Winry walks out of the workroom, her clothes in hand, and stops in front of the bathroom door. With a sigh of sorrow, she opens the door. When she looks up, she sees Edward's bare back.

He's facing away from her with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. His long blonde hair is hanging loose, dripping with water, around his shoulders. Winry stands there, to startled to move. When Ed turned around, he jumped several feet in the air.

"WHAT THE HELL, WINRY!" Ed pulled the towel tighter around his waist to make sure it wouldn't fall down.

"EEEP! SORRY!" Winry apologized as she stepped out of the bathroom as quickly as possible, slamming the door behind her.

_Well, at least he didn't leave._ Winry thought, looking on the positive side of the situation. Sure, she had barged in on him, almost seen him naked, probably made their friendship really awkward for the rest of their lives, but hey, at least he was still there.

Winry ran back into her bedroom and closed the door behind her. With a sigh, she sat down on her bed. Now she felt really guilty that the first thought she had when he wasn't in his bedroom was that he had broken his promise. It never even occurred to her that he was just somewhere else. Ed always kept his promises, no matter what. That was something that Winry admired most about him. But even though she was his best friend, she had automatically doubted him. _Yeah, some best friend I am._ She thought glumly as she stared at the floor.

A few minutes later, Winry heard her bedroom door open. Obviously it had to be Edward since Den can't open doors and Granny was gone few a few more hours. Winry's eyes flickered up to him as he entered the room. Now he was fully clothed wearing a black shirt and a pair of jeans. His long blonde hair was tied back in a ponytail like he had been wearing it lately.

Ed could tell that Winry was feeling down and it wasn't just because of the previous... event. Of course, that was part of the reason but maybe not all of it. Edward groaned inwardly. Comforting girls. Not his specialty. Sure he could handle girls... most of the time. But he wasn't that good, and that was probably too generous, at comforting. Add the two together and you get a terrible mess for Edward.

Edward cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Hey, ummm..." He shuffled his feet nervously. New route. "Where's the old hag?" Hopefully it would get Winry to stop thinking about earlier.

"She's visiting a friend." Winry's voice was barely above a whisper. "I'm guessing she'll be back in a few hours but, she may be sooner or later."

Silence.

Edward coughed nervously. He walked over and sat down on the bed next to Winry.

"Hey... what's wrong?" He had tried to sound comforting, but he was as stiff as a board.

"Nothing." Winry lied. Normally Ed was clueless, but this time he was able to tell that Winry was lying. Quite easily, actually.

"C'mon, Win." Ed placed his left hand on her right shoulder. He could feel Winry tense beneath his grip. "What's bugging you?"

"I-... I thought you left." Winry was hestitant. But once she said it, she started talking in a rush. "I'm sorry! The first thing I thought was that you had left eventhoughyoupromisedbutIstillthoughtitanditturnso utthatyouwerejustinthebathroom and-"

She stopped suddenly because Edward was chuckling. Winry felt her face flush. He was laughing at her.

"Edward!" She complained.

"Sorry! It's just you thought that it's a big deal but really," he smiled down at her, a gleam in his eye, "I don't really care. It doesn't matter. You were right to think that. Me and Al have left rather... abruptly. If anyone should feel bad it should be me, ok?"

Winry didn't say anything. She still felt guilty, but she felt better.

Ed started fidgeting nervously. He wanted to say it and now would be a good time but... He swallowed. He had fought homunculi and won. He had fought Father and won. He had cheated Truth. He had done things that most people didn't even know existed. But he couldn't gather up the courage to tell Winry that...

Right before Winry was about to say something about his fidgeting, Ed stood up. "Right then, I'm going to go for a walk." Without waiting for a reply, he left the room before Winry could see the blush that had taken over his face.

Winry sighed. "Alchemy freak..." she muttered to no one. Then she herself got up to take the shower she had planning to take.

* * *

**And that's it for Chapter 2... whoopee. I don't feel as good about this one as Chapter 1 but, ah well. It's in my head forever and so it'll be out here forever. I know it's shorter than Chapter 1, but my goal is at least 1,000 words per chapter and this chapter meets the requirements! ...barely. As if anyone's going to read this part anyways. I know I added this rather... quickly after the first chapter, but I had nothing better to do today so what the heck.**

**Warning: Chapter 3 might not be up for a while as I'm going to be busy driving for the next few days, then a day or two after that I go to an electronic-free camp for a week.(I'm not doing the actual driving but I won't have wifi connection...) So as my best friend says: HOLD ON TO YO PANTS!**

**MERRY SUMMER!**


	3. Getting to Business

**Chapter 3**

Edward gathered flowers as he walked to his mother and father's grave.

As he walked, he tried to go over what he learned about alchemy in the west. But after a short time, he found it impossible to think about anything else other than worrying about Al. Sure, Al was with their friend, May, as his guide, but Ed still worried about him. They hadn't been able to talk to each other since the two of them were moving around to be able to keep any permanent address for a letter or call. Maybe he should leave a letter with Pinako and Winry to give to Al when Al was sure to visit. Speaking of, did Al visit already? Winry hadn't said, and Ed was too busy getting hit with a wrench to ask. He would ask when he got back later.

By then, Ed had reached his mother and father's grave. He frowned at the one with his dad's name on it, but laid a couple flowers down at it nonetheless. Then he knelt in front of his mother's grave and placed the rest of the bouquet of flowers on top.

"Hey, mom…"

Winry was cleaning off her work table. She had a few appointments today and the first one was scheduled for in a few minutes. Before she showed up, however, Winry had to get her workshop ready. She had forgotten to do it yesterday before she went to bed and then she had been too tired to do it. Now she was quickly running around the place, picking up tools and putting them where they belonged, picking up stray wires and setting in their boxes without damaging them. She had barely finished when she heard knocking on the front door.

"Coming!" Winry yelled as she put the last screwdriver away. She walked as quickly as possible to the front door and opened it.

"Hi, Tammy!" Winry smiled at the ten-year old girl standing in front of her on a crutch.

"Hi." Tammy smiled shyly.

"Come in and we'll get started on your check-up, ok?" Winry stepped to the side of the door, allowing entry for the young girl.

"Ok." Tammy went inside the house and Winry closed the door behind her.

"This way," Winry led the way to her workshop.

In a few minutes, Winry was fiddling with the gears in Tammy's right leg.

"So how are you doing today, Tammy?" Winry glanced up from her work to flash a smile at Tammy.

"I'm doing good."

"The automail giving you any trouble?"

"No. I'm not using it all the way yet like you told me too."

"Good." Winry was smiling the whole time and Tammy noticed.

"You look like you're in a really good mood today. I mean, in an even better mood than usual." Tammy commented.

"Yeah. I am." Winry's smiled widened.

"Why? Is it your birthday or something?" Tammy's eyes glistened with curiosity.

"No, but one of my best friends finally came home."

"Where's he been?"

"Traveling." Winry's eyes squinted as she delicately poked a wire in Tammy's automail.

"Oh, so it is a guy?" Tammy grinned mischievously.

Winry looked up. "Yeah, yeah, so?"

"Just making sure…" Tammy trailed off. "Is he handsome?" She looked at Winry with bit, innocent eyes.

Winry was startled by this question. "You're ten years old. You shouldn't be asking questions like that." Winry quickly ducked her head, pretending to be looking at something that only she could see in the automail, to hide her blush.

"Maybe. But you're eighteen years old so you should be thinking things like that." Tammy's grin widened as she noticed the mechanic's blush.

"There! Your automail is in peak condition. You should be able to walk fully on it in a few more weeks." Winry stood up.

"Thanks." Tammy sat up, swinging her legs over the side of the table. Winry handed her her crutch and Tammy placed it under her right arm. Winry helped the girl stand up and walk to the front door.

"See ya later, Tammy." But before Winry could close the door, Tammy placed her left hand firmly on the door, stopping Winry from closing it.

"You still didn't answer my question, Winry." Winry never thought a ten year old could look as mischievous as Tammy did at that moment.

Winry couldn't help the blush that tainted her cheeks. "I'm really busy, ok? I have to get ready for my next appointment." Her next appointment wasn't for several hours, but she just wanted to get out of this conversation.

Tammy sighed, annoyed. She had a look on her face that made Winry wonder if Tammy knew she was lying. "Fine. At least tell me his name?" She ventured. Her meaning was obvious. Tammy would forget about her question about if he was handsome, and in return Winry was to tell her his name.

Winry smiled. "Edward." And with that, she waved goodbye and closed the door.

Jeesh. She's only ten and already thinking like that. Winry shook her head.

Since her next appointment wasn't for a while, after Winry finished cleaning her workshop, she sat down on the couch with another automail book.

After about an hour, Winry heard the front door open. She looked up and Pinako was standing in the doorway.

"Granny!" Winry stood up, being careful about setting her book down, without damaging it, on the couch. "How was your friend doing?"

"Oh, she was fine. Her grandson moved away a little while ago and she has to manage on her own now." Pinako took a second to light her pipe.

Winry smiled at her granny. "Granny, guess what?"

Pinako looked Winry up and down, thinking. "Do you mean guess who?" The old lady took pleasure in the look of surprise on Winry's face.

"H-how did you know?" Winry quickly got over her surprise. Pinako seemed to know everything.

"You seem especially happy today, even happier then when you get to work on automail. So I just assume that one, or both, of the boys came home." Pinako said casually as if she didn't just read Winry's mind. Winry wouldn't be surprised if she did.

"Yeah! Ed came home last night!"

"Without calling or writing ahead. I would expect nothing else from the pipsqueak." Pinako chuckled.

"WHO YOU CALLING A PIPSQUEAK, YOU OLD HAG?!" Both Pinako and Winry were surprised by Ed running into the room from seemingly nowhere and screaming at the top of his lungs.

"YOU, YOU LITTLE TWERP!"

"WHAT THE HELL! I'M TALLER THAN WINRY NOW AND HAVE BEEN TALLER THAN YOU FOR YEARS!"

"YOUR YOUNGER BROTHER'S TALLER THAN YOU, SHORTY!"

Ed balled his fists. Winry could practically see the steam pumping out of his ears.

Before Ed could reply, Pinako left the room and went into the kitchen.

"Where'd you go?" Winry asked even though she was pretty sure she knew.

Ed calmed down. "I went to my mom's grave."

"And your dads." Winry added.

"…Yeah. His too, I guess." Ed coughed. "Hey um… I've been wanting to ask you something for a while now, Winry…."

Winry felt a small spark of hope course through her body. Could he…

"Has Al contacted you saying how he's doing?"

And it's gone. "Yeah. He's written us at least once a week unlike his shorter brother…"

"OH COME ON!"

"IT'S TRUE AND YOU KNOW IT SO ACCEPT IT ALREADY!"

Ed growled in his throat. "Just tell me, is he ok?"

"Yeah. He's says he's find a lot more about alkahestry. He probably would have went into details but it's me and Granny he's writing to so we would have no idea what he means. He and May are getting along well without trying to kill each other and he's enjoying Xing." Winry glared at Ed, trying to make her point with her next sentence. "He called once and asked about you, trying to see if you're ok, but since you never write we couldn't tell him and he's worrying sick over you."

Ed gulped and looked at the floor. Winry had done her duty well about making him feel guilty.

"So he didn't visit yet?" Ed doesn't look up.

"No."

"Ok."

"…what?" Ed looked up at Winry, puzzled. "You seem to be thinking about something."

"Of course I'm thinking about something!" Ed huffed.

"Yes, but what are you thinking about now?" Winry put her hands on her hips.

"Eh… nothing."

"Yeah, right." Winry rolled her eyes. "Well, I'm going to go set up for my next automail appointment."

"Need any help?"

"No. You'd probably wreck my workroom…" Winry smirked. "Go ask Granny if she has any chores for you."

Ed rolled his eyes with a dramatic sigh. "Yeah, yeah. She's going to work me like a slave."

"Get over it." Winry turned on her heel and walked to her workshop, leaving Ed grumbling in the living room.

* * *

**End of Chapter 3! I know… probably not the best work ever but whatever. Someone said that they hoped that they kissed in this chapter. You are sadly disappointed, whoever you are. Sorry about that…actually no. Not sorry at all. Live with it. And sorry it took so long to post this... I had it on my computer for a week. I was at my electronic free camp so I couldn't post it. I TRIED! I REALLY DID! But then my mom wouldn't leave early enough for me to get to library wifi... sorry. But I did write the next three chapters at camp!NOW GET OFF YO BUTTS AND GET OUTSIDE! And for those of you on a laptop/phone outside… THEN GET OFF YO DEVICES AND GO MESS AROUND OUTSIDE! IT'S SUMMER! GO SPRAY SOMEONE WITH A HOSE!**

** Except if you're in the Arctic. Then stay inside your nice toasty warm homes and don't freeze to death.**


	4. Letters

**Chapter 4**

"Ed!" Winry called from the front porch. "Want some tea?"

Ed looked up from where he was pulling weeds from the bushes surrounding the house. "Yeah! I'll be there in a minute!"

Winry nodded as Ed continued to pull at a particularly hard weed. She found it difficult to move her eyes from Ed, who had taken his shirt off because of the exceptionally hot sun that day. She tried not to look at his taut muscles, that were gleaming with sweat, and his-

Ed glanced over at Winry. It might have been because of the look on her face that he guessed that he was being checked out. A blush crept to his face as his eyes widened slightly. Winry saw his face and she too started blushing. She quickly turned around and walked, rather quickly, back into the house.

Ed sipped at his tea while Winry poured herself a cup.

"Having fun, Ed?" Winry smirked.

"Oh, yes. Nothing more fun that boiling under the sun." Ed rolled his eyes, then took another gulp of tea. "Oh, and I got the mail earlier. There was a letter from Al." Now Ed smirked. "It was addressed to you, but I read it anyways."

"What!" Winry's eyes widened. She _really_ hoped that Al had gotten off of their previous topic. That would be so embarrassing... "What did he say?" Winry sat down and sipped some of her tea, trying to appear casual.

Ed shrugged. "Nothing much, really. Someone had tried to pickpocket May..." He grinned. "It didn't turn out so well for the thief."

Winry smiled as well. "I can only imagine."

Then Ed got a puzzled look on his face. "But the first thing he said was something about wishing you good luck?" He looked at Winry, expecting an explanation.

Winry did her best not to blush. She knew what Al meant. "Oh, he was talking about my automail." Winry lied before taking a gulp of tea.

Ed raised his eyebrows.

Winry sighed, doing her best to sound annoyed and not nervous. "Well, what do _you_ think he meant?"

Ed rolled his eyes, frustrated. "How am I supposed to know? It's not as if I read his previous letters..." Ed's eyes lit up with an idea. He grinned evilly.

"Oh, no! There is no way you are ever going to find them!" Winry narrowed her eyes at Ed.

"Oh, so you definitely _don't_ want me to read them then?" His eyes glinted mischievously.

Winry's face turned scarlet. She stood up and crossed over to the other side of the table where Ed was. She reached over and grabbed his empty cup, yanking it from his hands.

"Don'y you have weeds to pull?" She snapped at him.

His smile only widened. "That's all the answer I need." Then he stood up and stretched his arms behind his head, unintentionally giving Winry a good close up of his, still bare, well toned, and well tanned, chest.

Before Edward could see her blush, Winry turned and walked to the sink to wash Ed's cup. Of course, Ed didn't notice her embarrassment and walked out the door.

"See ya later!" Ed called over his shoulder before the door slammed shut.

The instant he was gone, Winry charged up the stairs and into her bedroom. She ripped open her top desk drawer where her letters from Al were. She would definitely have to hide them. Or maybe she would burn them. No... when she reads the letters, she can imagine Al talking as if he was in the room with her, so she wants to keep them. But they would have to stay out of Ed's hands... Winry grinned.

Ed continued to work outside for an hour. During that time, he kept on thinking about where Al's letter couls be hidden. Possibly in Winry's workroom, or maybe her bedroom...

While Ed tried to re-create the rooms of the house in his head, WInry put the letters in her perfect hiding place.

"No way Ed is going to look there!" Winry smirked to herself as she set her recently-used wrench on the top of her desk.

"Look where?"

Winry picked up her wrench again and spun around, throwing her wrench towards the voice on instinct. The weapon found it's target at Ed's forehead, shoving him down to the ground.

"CAN'T YOU GO ONE DAY WITHOUT TRYING TO KILL ME?!" Ed yelled as he swung the wrench around from his position on the floor.

"THEN DON'T SNEAK UP ON ME!" Winry countered. "AND GIMME MY WRENCH BACK!" She held out her open hand.

Ed grumbled something, but Winry couldn't hear what he said. It sounded some like 'stupid gearhead'. Ed got up, and walked over and, reluctantly, placed the wrench in Winry's open hands.

Winry's fingers tightened around her precious weapon.

"Thank you."

Ed nodded as he rubbed his forehead.

Silence.

"Winry-" Ed was cut off by the sound of the phone ringing downstairs.

"I got it." Winry brushed past Ed and left the room. She walked down the stairs to the phone and picked it up.

"Hello, Rockbell residence and automail." Winry said in a tone that she used a hundred times.

"Hi, Winry!" A cheerful voice said on the other end.

"Al?" Winry said, surprised and hopeful. "Is that you?"

Laughter buzzed over the phone. "Yeah. Yeah it's me."

"Al! How's it going?"

"Good. Listen, I only have a minute. I just wanted to call you to tell you that I'm coming in for a visit. I'll be there in a few hours, tops."

"Al, that's great!" Winry exclaimed happily.

"Yeah, I'm really glad too. Sorry it's on such such notice but-"

"Don't worry about it," Winry cut him off, "I'm just glad you're coming home! And it's more notice than _some_ people give..." Winry mumbled that last part so Al couldn't hear her. She wanted Ed to be a surprise for Al and vice versa.

"Ok, then... oh! I have to go! My train is boarding! See you soon!" Winry could hear a train whistle in the background.

"Ok, bye! See you soon!" _Click._

Winry put the phone down, a smile stretching across her face.

_We're all going to be together again soon._

* * *

**Ok, so that's chapter 4 for ya! I wrote this chapter at camp while drinking coffee! I finished this on the first day too! I'm so EPIC! Hahahaha!**

**So, R&R! Oh, should I title the chapters? You tell me.**


	5. The Kiss

**Chapter 5**

Winry stood, jaw hanging open, in the doorway to her bedroom.

"What...did...you...do...TO MY ROOM?!" Winry yelled at Ed, her face red with anger.

"Uhhh..." Ed coughed nervously. "Nothing?"

"IT'S NOT NOTHING! LOOKS LIKE THERE WAS A TORNADO IN HERE! ...YOU WERE LOOKING FOR AL'S LETTERS, WEREN'T YOU!" It was a statement, not a question.

Ed didn't answer her.

Winry reached into her back pocket where her wrench was and pulled it out, raising it above her head.

"GET OUT OF MY ROOM NOW, EDWARD ELRIC!" She didn't wait, however. She walked towards Ed, dodging the items on the floor, and grabbed him by his ponytail. **(A/N: Ok so maybe she wouldn't do that... but admit it... for pretty much everyone, it would be sooooo tempting. Don't deny it.)**

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, OW!" Ed yelled as he tried to keep up with Winry who was dragging him to the door.

Ed stumbled out of Winry's room and into the hallway.

_CLUNK!_ Winry hit Ed on the head with the wrench. As he sat on the floor, back to Winry's bedroom, he heard, and felt, the door slam behind him.

* * *

Winry leaned against her door, surveying the damage.

All of her dresser drawers were opened with most of the clothes strung out across the room, even some of her under clothes!

Her pillow case was nowhere to be seen, but the pillow itself was still on the bed at least. The blankets were messed up and the sheet was clear on the other side of the room. The objects in and on her desk were everywhere.

"Edward..." Winry growled.

And with that, she set to work fixing the mess her best friend had made.

* * *

It took Winry more than an hour to clean up her room.

When she went downstairs, Ed was sitting on the couch, waiting for her.

"Hey, ummm..." Ed rubbed the back of his head with his left hand. "I made you some apple pie." Ed held up a plate with a piece of pie and a fork on it in his right hand.

Winry crossed her arms over her chest. "Since when could _you_ cook?"

"I picked up a little skill in the west."

"Granny helped you, didn't she?"

"...yes."

"Ok, then." Winry walked over and sat down next to Ed. Her aim was a bit off, so she ended up sitting so that her and Ed's legs were pressed together.

"Uhh..." Ed's ears turned pink. "H-here." He held the plate out to Winry.

"Thanks." Winry accepted the plate, not looking at Ed from embarrassment. She picked up the fork and stabbed it into the pie, taking a small chunk out of it and putting it in her mouth.

"Hey... this is pretty good." Winry said, surprised.

Ed smiled. "Really?"

"Yeah... did Granny make most of it?" Winry continued to eat her pie.

"Actually I made most of it. The old hag really only showed me where everything was."

"Wow. This your first pie?"

"Yeah, actually."

"Tastes a little..." Winry thought for a second. "Tastes a little too sweet."

"Yeah... I kind of added too much sugar on accident."

"Ah. I can tell."

Ed coughed. "I-I'm sorry about messing up your room. I only meant to look in your drawers and... I kind of lost control."

"Yeah, no kidding."

"I'm really sorry." Ed looked away from Winry.

"Yeah, yeah. I got that." Winry shrugged. "Just don't do it again or so help me I will kill you."

"Ok!" Ed looked forward once again. "I'll stop looking for the letters."

"You were never going to find them anyways."

"I doubt that."

"Believe it." Winry set her fork down on her now empty pie plate.

Maybe the pie had too much sugar and she was getting kind of hyper, or maybe the warmth from Ed's leg pressing against hers affected her somehow. Or maybe she was tired from cleaning her room for the past hour. Whatever the cause, Winry felt different and she just _had_ to do something.

Before she could stop herself, or even tell what she was doing, Winry sat up taller, leaned over, and planted a kiss on Ed's cheek.

"Thanks for the pie." She whispered, her breath tickling Ed's ear.

Ed turned scarlet. "Er, uh... y-yeah... n-n-no problem. W-welcome." He stammered, trying not to squirm nervously.

All of a sudden, what she just did hit Winry. She stood up and almost ran to the kitchen to wash her pie plate, her face flushed with embarrassment.

Ed didn't move from the couch. Finally, after a few minutes, his hand started creeping upwards. The tips of his middle and index fingers traced just above his jaw where Winry had kissed him, gently brushing over the spot. It still felt as though Winry's lips were still there, and his ear still tingled from her breath.

He couldn't help smiling a little.

* * *

**Exception chapter! There are not 1000 words. Too bad.**

**Sorry if this chapter is cheesy or OOC or stupid or whatever. When I wrote this, this was my situation for those of you who care:**

**I was sitting outside under a HOT sun.  
My legs were melting in the sun while the rest of my body was in the shade.  
I was waiting in a lunch line with 500 other people(I was at front though) waiting for the doors to open.  
Two wasps were flying around me, too close for comfort.  
I had been in the sun all day.  
I had a headache.  
My cabin kept on screaming at some boy from our church(it was a church camp).  
When they weren't screaming at the boy, they were screaming at each other or other people cutting in line.**

**So... yeah. Sorry for OOC...ness...or whatever else you guys use as judgement words.**

***takes sip of caramel machiatto* ahh... that's some _gooooood_ coffee.**

**Jealous?**


	6. The Friend

**Chapter 6**

"What did I _do_ that for?!" Winry wanted to slap herself. Then she wanted to go back out to the living room and tell Ed that she didn't know what came over her.

She wouldn't _apologize_ because honestly, she wasn't sorry. Just... embarrassed. Although Ed was probably more embarrassed than she was.

"It's his own stupid fault..." Winry muttered, thinking about when Ed had said goodbye at the train station, then coming home and acting like it never happened.

"I assume you're talking about brother?" A voice came from behind Winry. She whipped around and saw the youngest Elric brother.

"Al!" Winry didn't hesitate to run over and hug him.

"Hey, Winry!" Al laughed, wrapping his arms around his childhood friend in a tight embrace.

"I didn't think you'd get here so quickly!" Winry was in no hurry to let go.

"I said a few hours at most. I got here a bit quicker than I expected."

"Mmhm."

"So, since you were talking about someone's 'own stupid fault', I'm guessing that you got word from brother?"

Winry was glad that he couldn't see her smile, and her blush as well.

"Yeah," Winry finally let go of Al and stepped away.

"What'd he say?"

Winry sighed. "I'll tell you later." Since Al apparently didn't know Ed was there, Ed must be in his and Al's bedroom. "Just go to your room and..." she glanced behind him and saw two big bags sitting in the living room, "and unpack." Thank you excuses.

Al pretended to look disappointed that Winry didn't want to talk to him. "Ok, fine." Winry couldn't help but think of how if she had said that to Ed, he would have thrown a fit. In a minute, Al was on his way up the stairs, his bags in hand.

Winry ran over to the bottom of the stairs when Al was out of sight.

She could hear the door creak open.

"Ed?!" Obviously Al.

There was some more noise, but Winry couldn't make out anything else than the sound of the door closing. Winry sighed, annoyed. She was hoping that she would have been able to eaves drop on them.

_Knock knock!_ Came from the front door.

Winry ran over and opened the door.

"Hey-y, girl!" The girl on the other side of the door said.

"Hey, Jac!" Winry smiled and opened the door wider, steeping to one side. "Come in!"

"Thanks!" Jac stepped inside the house, taking the door from Winry and closing it herself.

"Is that a new hair tie?" Winry asked.

"This?" Jac pointed to the band in her hair. "Yeah. Just got it yesterday. You like?"

"Yeah! It's really cute!"

Jac was wearing a white spaghetti strap top that had a black flower spreading across the bottom left corner. Her black capris had a silver chain hanging on her right side. Her silky black hair was tied in a braid hanging over the front of her right shoulder. The hair tie they were talking about was at the end of her braid. It was a black rose with silver feathers coming out from underneath it.

"Thanks!" Jac looked over Winry. "Girl, I have got to take you shopping! I could find you so many cute outfits!"

Winry was wearing her white tank top with black miniskirt at the time. "No thanks, I'm good."

"Awww, come on!"

"No way." Jac was probably going to dress her in next to nothing if Winry let her take her shopping for clothes.

"Oh, you're no fun!" Jac sighed, annoyed. Then she opened her arms wide, her gray eyes sparkling. "I've been here for five minutes and you haven't given me a hug yet!"

Winry laughed, then stepped into Jac's arms, giving her a quick hug. She had just pulled away when a loud _bang_ came from upstairs.

"What is your granny doing up there?" Jac put her hands on her hips.

"It's not her..." Winry groaned. "I'll be right back."

Winry had just reached the top of the stairs when she heard a noise come from behind her. She turned around and saw Jac on the stairs behind her.

"Hey, I wanna see too!" Jac defended herself.

"Yeah, yeah. But there might be some yelling..." Winry warned Jac.

"Really?" Jac looked intrigued. "Who's up there?"

"Some old friends." Winry walked to Ed and Al's bedroom with Jac following close behind.

"Guys!" Winry yelled through the door. "I'm coming in so-"

The door opened and closed again in an instant. Ed was now standing before Winry and Jac, a look of panic on his face. Other than that, he looked okay except for a few hairs that had gotten out of his ponytail.

"Hiii, Winry." Ed looked everywhere except at Winry.

Jac tugged at Winry's arm, pulling her close.

"You didn't tell me that you had such a," Jac's eyes wandered over Ed, "a _hot_ brother!" She whispered.

Winry's face turned pink. "He isn't my brother!"

Jac gasped. "You didn't tell me you had a boyfriend, girl!"

"He's _not_ my boyfriend!" _Yet._ Winry's mind told her before she could stop herself. Winry pinched herself for her own mind betraying her.

"Oh, so he's available then!" Jac's eyes gleamed. "Sweetness!"

Winry slapped Jac's arm, telling her to shut up, and turned back to face Ed. His body was visible, but his head was poking through his door. Winry could hear him talking to Al, but she couldn't understand what he was saying.

"Ed!" Winry yelled. He spun around, pulling his head out of the door before he closed it tightly. "What are you two _doing_ in there?!" As if to prove her point, the sound of something big and heavy falling to the floor came from inside the bedroom.

"Uhh... unpacking." Ed lied. "Who's your friend?" He asked, desperate to change the subject.

Jac stepped forward, smiling sweetly and extending her right hand. "Jacqueline Jennings. But please, call me Jac. Everyone does."

Ed took the hand and shook it. "Edward Elric. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure's all mine, Eddie." Jac nicknamed him in an instant.

Ed's eyes widened ever so slightly. He dropped Jac's hand quickly. "Nice to meet you. Bye!" He opened the door and was about to walk inside his bedroom again.

Winry grabbed Ed's arm, pulling him out of the door. He made sure to close it tightly before Winry could even catch a glimpse in there. "Not so fast, _Ed_." Winry exaggerated the 'Ed', trying to hint to Jac that that was his nickname, not 'Eddie'. "What exactly are you guys doing in there?" She asked for the second time.

"There's two of them?" Jac asked excitedly, apparently not have gotten it before.

"Uhh..." Ed looked confused by Jac, ignoring Winry's question.

"Well?" Winry crossed her arms.

"Well..."

"Simple words, Ed."

"To put it simply..." Ed began. "Al was trying to show me some alkahestry he learned and-"

"What's alkahestry?" Jac interrupted.

"Erm... a different type of alchemy." Ed explained.

"Oh... ok!" Ed smiled at Ed, trying to be as charming as possible.

Ed looked even more puzzled by Jac. "Yeah... so Al was showing me his alkahestry and-"

"Who's Al?" Jac interrupted him again.

"He's... my brother."

"Ohh! The brother!" Jac smiled happily. "There's always a brother!"

Winry grabbed Jac roughly by the arm and pulled her close. "Shush!" She hissed.

"Ok, ok... jeesh. Try to get to know your best friend's boyfriend and you get yelled at." Jac mumbled so only Winry could hear. Winry pinched her.

"He isn't my boyfriend!"

"Whatever you say, girl." Jac winked at Winry.

Winry turned back to Ed. "So Al and his alkahestry and..." She prodded.

"So basically... he messed up and blew up his clothes." Ed finally finished.

"Is he ok?!" Winry tried to push past Ed and into the boys' bedroom, but he wouldn't let her pass.

"I just said he blew up his clothes... _all_ his clothes." Ed gently pushed Winry back by her shoulders. Winry blushed as she realized what he meant. "But he's ok! He isn't hurt!" Ed assured her.

"...ok. Does he need anything? Like water or something?"

"No. But I'm sure he would love it if there weren't two girls hanging outside his door while he gets dressed."

"Stupid alchemy freaks..." Winry muttered.

"Here, Eddie." Jac held out a slip of paper to Ed.

"...what... is it?" Ed asked cautiously, but he took the slip nonetheless.

"My number." Jac said casually.

"Jac!" Winry's eyes widened.

"Thanks, but... why do I need your number?" Ed asked, ignorant of what Jac was implying.

Jac smiled and turned to Winry. "He is _so _cute!" She whispered to Winry. "Well, I should go. I only wanted to stop by for a few minutes, say hi and all that." Jac turned and walked to the stairs, but turned around before she started going down.

"Bye-e!" She waved at Winry, but then blew a kiss at Ed. And with that, she turned around and headed down the stairs.

* * *

**Ok, so now, I kind of feel hyper because I had, for breakfast, a big cup of... ORANGE JUICE! ...yeah. Sugar and coffee have no effect on me. Only orange juice does. And SunnyD. Mainly SunnyD. And also orange pop, but not any other kind of pop.**

**So I had a big cup of orange juice and now I feel REALLYREALLYHYPERLIKEIJUSTWANTTORUNANDJUMPAROUNDAN I'MWRITINGREALLYREALLYFAST!**

**I LOVE ORANGE JUICE!**

**Ok, so, apparently, when I get hyper on orange juice, I make up weird characters. Like Jac. You like her? I do. Or maybe I don't. I CANT'T TELL BECAUSE I'M TOO HYPER! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh yeah, Jac is based off of some of the girls in my cabins at camp. Then also when I'm hyper I make weird stories. Like this chapter. Kind of weird. Like with blowing up his clothes? I have no idea where that came from... just kind of seemed to work, ya know?**

**So should I drink more orange juice before writing my stories? R&R!**


	7. Loose Boards

**Chapter 7**

Winry's jaw dropped open. _No way she just did that!_ She thought.

Winry had known Jac for a few months before Ed and Al had left, then they became close friends in the past six months. Jac was outgoing and didn't really care what other people thought about her, unless it was a really hot boy she liked, but Winry thought that Jac wasn't outgoing enough to blow a kiss at a boy she just met! Who does that?!

Winry turned and looked at Ed to see his reaction. He was staring at the ceiling, lost in thought.

"Ed?"

No reply.

"Ed!" Winry said louder.

He jumped, startled. "Er, yes?"

Just to check... "Did you see Jac leave?" Winry asked, trying to sound as casual as possible.

"Huh?" Ed looked around. "She left?" There was Winry's answer.

"Yeah. Weren't you paying attention?"

"Eh... no. I was thinking about... stuff." Ed looked away from Winry, a slight blush on his face. "Erm... I'm gonna see how Al is doing."

Winry blushed as well as she realized Ed was thinking about the kiss she had given him earlier. "Right! I'm gonna go get lunch ready!" Winry quickly walked down the stairs and to the kitchen.

Ed sighed, relieved that Winry was gone. It was just going to get awkward. Before he could move, the door opened behind him.

"I'm good now." Al came out, fully clothed.

"That's good." Ed said absentmindedly. He had to resist the urge to touch his cheek again.

Al noticed his absentmindedness. "Everything ok, brother?"

"Huh?" Ed blinked himself back into reality and looked at Al.

"...Is everything ok? You're acting... different. It's kind of weirding me out." Al asked worridly.

"Yeah!" Ed held up his hands. "Everything's ok! It's good! Doing nice!"

"Uh... o...k?"

"So! How's May doing? You guys going out yet?" Ed asked, desperate to change the topic.

Al blushed. "No! We're just friends!"

"Yeah..." Ed grinned. "For now."

"Then how about you and Winry?" Al crossed his arms over his chest, a smug look on his face.

Ed's face flushed as he could feel Winry's lips on his cheek again. "What do you mean?" He knew exactly what Al meant, but maybe he would leave him alone...

"Like are you two going out now? It's so obvious you guys like each other so don't try to deny it."

"No! We aren't, for your information!" Ed rolled his eyes, but he was still blushing like crazy. "So are you going to tell me about Xing or what?"

Al smiled, amused with Ed. "Yeah, yeah. I'll tell you, Winry, and Pikako about Xing when we eat lunch, and you'll tell us about Creta and any other countries you went to in the west."

"Right. I didn't tell Winry or Pikako yet anyways. I've been too busy being worked like a slave by that old hag." Ed sighed.

"I'm sure you're exggerating." Al chuckled. "Oh, and did you find any other type of alchemy you can perform yet?" He made it sound like Ed was going to find one if he didn't already find one.

"Eh... no." Ed sighed from the memories of the west. "Not yet."

Al put a hand on Ed's shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll find a way for you to get your alchemy back somehow. I promise."

Ed smiled sadly. "Yeah. Sure. Let's go help with lunch." Ed shook off Al's hand and walked away.

* * *

It was an hour since the Rockbell's and Elric's had sat down and ate lunch together, listening to Ed and Al's adventures about their travels.

Winry was out on the porch, leaning against the railing on the far side away from the door. While Al was more careful and was in no fatal danger at anytime in his travels, there were several times where Ed hadn't been able to look at Winry while he told of his adventures about how he had come so close to death so many times. _That reckless idiot! Doesn't he know that he has people wanting him to return home alive?! _Winry thought as she looked over the countryside.

The front door opened behind her and Ed stepped outside. When he saw Winry, he jumped.

"Where are you going?" Winry asked him, turning around and standing up all the way.

"No where." Ed shrugged. "The old hag told me there was some loose boards out here that I need to fix, so I'm coming to get a look at them before I get the tools."

"Oh, right. The boards are somewhere over here." Winry pointed to a general area several feet in front of her.

"Right, then." Ed started walking towards her, looking down at the ground for the loose boards.

Suddenly, his flesh foot hit one of the loose boards that he apparently hadn't seen. "Ack!" He stumbled forward, his arms spread out to either side to try to gain his balance back. Winry stepped forward on instinct to catch his arm so he wouldn't fall. Instead, Ed accidentally pushed her back against the railing, his arms on either side of her, pinning her to the railing. The force of his tripping had pushed him forward so Ed's lips ended up pressed roughly against Winry's.

Both of their eyes widened and their faces turned pure scarlet. They were frozen in shock, and somewhat in fear, so neither of them moved for several seconds. Finally, by some miracle, Ed gained his movement back first. He pulled away from Winry as quickly as possible, his eyes looking ready to pop out of his head.

Winry stood up straight again, her mouth hanging open. **(A/N: ...awkward silence moment.)**

"Um..." Ed looked like he was about to freak out any second. Truth be told, he was probably freaking out in his head.

"Y-you s-should get to w-work on those boards." Winry stammered.

Ed gulped, then looked surprisingly calm for a second. "They can wait."

Winry was about to ask what he meant, but she was cut off. In a second, Ed had quickly closed the gap between them, pulling Winry to him and pressing his lips gently against hers. They stumbled back until Ed hit the wall. Winry was stunned, but also somewhat glad that Ed had _finally_ made a move on her.

But right now she was more stunned.

She didn't move at all and she could feel Ed tense up as he thought that he did something wrong. After another second, she began to kiss back. Her hands began creeping up the back of his head and neck from where they were previously resting on his shoulders. Before they could reach their target, however, the front door opened again.

"Hey," Al said, "I heard some commotion so I just thought I'd- OH GODS!" Al jumped back, his cheeks red with embarrassment.

Winry and Ed quickly spread apart, not daring to look at each other, their faces both flushed with embarrassment as well.

"Sorry! Continue or... whatever." Al quickly walked back into the house.

Ed and Winry both stared at the floor awkwardly.

"I should... get to work on the floor boards." Ed muttered.

"And I have some... dishes to do." Winry was leaving before she finished.

When she was inside, she leaned back against the door. Her eyes opened wide as she replayed what just happened.

After a second, she slowly began to smile.

* * *

**OH YEAH! END OF CHAPTER 7! I like this one. I think you guys do too.**

**R&R and I'll put them up even MORE faster than I am now! HAHAHAHA! SO REVIEW PPLZ! I LIKE MY REVIEWS! And please don't kill me for the next chapter. I know some of you might want too... but please don't! because if you do, then you will never see how it ends!**

**And now you're definetaly gonna read the next chapter to see why you would want to kill me. :)**


	8. In the Kitchen

**Chapter 8**

Winry actually _did_ have dishes to do, but she was planning on reading some stuff on automail first. But now she decided to do them first so she could think while she worked. **(A/N: Forgive me. These guys are going to get OOC from here on out... actually they were OOC in the last chapter. But too bad. You'll live. OH! OMG I TOTALLY FORGOT ALL THIS TIME! Disclaimer: I do not own FMA. I only own Jac. She is a character off of my orange juice hyperness. MINE! ALL MINE!)**

Winry was _extremely _happy that Ed had finally kissed her. He was so close to kissing her at the train station, and maybe he was planning to, but he didn't. She wanted to kill him for that. **(A/N: Or is that just me?)** Or maybe kiss him instead. But she didn't. Then when he came home, he was acting like nothing ever happened. Winry grinned. She was glad she had kissed him on the cheek. If she hadn't, maybe he never would have kissed her! Or at least... not for a long time.

Then there's Jac. She actually blew a kiss at Ed! She had only known him for five minutes, yet she did that! Winry had known Ed all her life, but it had taken her at least sixteen years to give him a small peck on the cheek! **(A/N: I have no idea how old they are at the end of the show. If you know, can you PM me or review it please so I can use it? I'll do you a favour[within my power] if you do!)** Winry was good friends with Jac... but still. Best friends just don't do that to their best friends! Although... Winry _had_ told Jac that she and Ed weren't going out or anything so... it's kinda her own fault. But still!

Before Winry could continue on her dish washing rant, Al walked into the kitchen.

"Oh!" He started to blush. "Ehem... sorry about... earlier."

Winry smiled slightly at him. "It's ok. It was kind of... sudden."

"Yeah, you're telling me." Al let out a small chuckle.

"What?"

"Just before lunch, Ed told me that you guys were 'just friends'." Al smiled, somewhat evilly. "But I didn't believe him, of course. Especially not with him blushing like _that_. Care to tell me why he was blushing?"

"Uh..." Well... Al had just seen them kissing so... "Before you got here... like only ten minutes or so before you got here... I kind of kissed Ed on the cheek. He had given me some pie and... yeah." No more details.

"Ah." Al nodded like he was expecting it.

Time to turn the tables. "So at lunch, you didn't tell us about you and May." Now Winry grinned evilly.

Al coughed nervously. "Nothing to tell. We're not trying to kill each other and-"

"Al, Al, Al." Winry chuckled. "I still have the letters you know. And there was more than you guys not killing each other."

"...wait... what?" Al looked genuinely confused.

Winry blinked. "The letters you sent me?" She prodded.

"Yeah, I sent you letters... but nothing with me and May in them, other than we're getting along fine."

"But one letter told, in great detail, about the time you guys went to a museum on alkahestry and-"

"WHAT?!" Al started flipping out.

"Yes! I can get it for you if you want me to!" Winry put her hands on her hips.

"Whoa! I did NOT write that to you!" Al started waving his hands around.

"Well, I still got it! And obviously it was real, what with your reaction and all!"

Al blushed like crazy. "But I didn't write it!"

"Then who did?!" Winry demanded.

Al's eyes widened, then he sighed. "Ughhh... May..." He mumbled.

"What?"

"I'm pretty sure May wrote them to you. Ugh!" Al grunted.

"May?"

"Yes."

"Ohhhh!" Winry grinned. "So _that's_ why she could go into that much detail..."

Al's eyes looked like they were ready to pop out of his head. "What... exactly... did she say?" He barely squeaked.

"Oh, I think pretty much everything that happened from the time you arrived at the museum. I mean, she skipped over the alkahestry history and facts and all that junk, but other than that..."

"Please, don't tell Ed yet!" Al begged. "I'll never hear the end of it."

Winry shrugged. "All right, I guess. Besides," She grinned, "I can use this to drive him nuts."

"As if you kissing and flirting with him isn't." Al smirked.

Winry narrowed her eyes at him. "Oh, get out of here, lover boy." Old, used a lot, but it still made Al blush and leave the room in less than a second.

Winry turned back around to finish her dishes.

* * *

**Another exception chapter. Not 1000 words. Live with it.**

**Ok... so this ISN'T the chapter you guys are going to kill me for. Sorry. I THOUGHT it was going to be... but then Al walked into the kitchen with Winry and it kind of... took off from there. But some of you might want to kill me for not telling about the museum. I mean, _I_ know what happened there. Don't worry, you'll find out... in like several chapters... maybe. Maybe I'll never say! But I do plan on trying to get a bit of what Al and Winry's letters to each other said somewhere in the future. BTW, I wrote this in less than forty minutes! EPICNESS! R&R and I'll keep it coming. I do love reviews. They make me feel so nice. Even the bad ones.**


	9. Meanwhile

**Chapter 9**

**While Al and Winry were talking in the kitchen...**

Ed didn't go inside to get the tools for the loose boards just yet. Right now, he was kneeling in front of the loose board he had tripped over a few minutes previously. That one little board had caused him and Winry to kiss.

Although _he_ was the one who had decided to kiss her again... but now he was worried. When he had kissed Winry for the second time, she didn't do anything. She didn't kiss back, or even just back away from him. Her hands had started moving up towards his head before Al came. It was probably to slap him for doing _that_ all of a sudden. Out of nowhere.

Well... maybe not _nowhere_... Winry was the one who kissed him on the cheek, and that's what helped give him the guts to kiss her now... but maybe she was just really hyper on the too much sugar in the pie. Or maybe it was just a friendly kiss on the cheek so she didn't really mean it... at least, not in the romantic way Ed was hoping for.

Then Ed actually slapped himself. _The train station..._ He remembered. But... maybe she could have meant eighty percent of her life to just be his friend and help him with his automail leg? Or maybe she didn't mean it anymore... But wouldn't she tell him? Or maybe she didn't want to hurt his feelings? _There are too many 'maybe's! _Ed groaned.

Ed looked down at the loose board. _Stupid board... making this so much harder than it already was..._ Ed got up to go get the tool box.

He had a lot of loose boards to fix.

* * *

**Definetly not 1000 words. I know. But this is just to show what's going on in Ed's head about chapter 7. Ok... so I'm pretty dang sure next chapter is the one you're going to kill me for. Pretty sure. Although if Jac shows up again... then it may be delayed several chapters again. But I doubt it... Jac already showed up for this day... so yeah. Heck, some of you may not want to kill me for the next chapter though. I can't read your minds. But maybe some of you will. So... I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Think I should write some more short, exception chapters that just show someone's feelings/thoughts? **

**R&R! I love my reviews! :D**


	10. The Talk

**Chapter 10**

Dinner was, to say the least, more than awkward.

Al had seated Ed and Winry next to each other to try to 'keep it going'. But they wouldn't look at each other or talk to anyone. The had moved as far away from each other as was possible. Pikako was wondering about this strange behavior, but had decided that she really didn't want to know. Not yet, anyways. Then Al was getting annoyed.

_You would have thought it would have done __**something**__ for them. Instead, it's only making it awkward for everyone! Jeesh..._ Al groaned inwardly.

Al tried to at least get Winry to talk. She would probably be easier to get. He tried asking her about how her automail was going, if she found out any new techniques or anything like that. She only told him a simple 'it's good.' Every sound of silverware against dishes could be heard. The sound of people swallowing was magnified by a hundred thousand times. Every shift in each chair was noticeable by everyone.

Word sum up: Extreme awkwardness.

* * *

"Ed!" Al was trying to shake Ed awake from his position on the couch. "Ed! Get up already!"

One of Ed's eyes opened halfway. "Mmnumg." He mumbled, turning over so his back was to Al.

Al sighed. He grabbed Ed by the shoulder and rolled him off the couch.

_Thunk!_

"Ow!" Ed sat up, rubbing the back of his head. "What did you do that for?!" He demanded.

"You have to go talk with Winry!"

"You woke me up for that?!"

"You guys can't continue like this!" Al held out a hand to help Ed up. "It's just to awkward for me and for Pikako as well!"

"Oh, who cares about the old hag, anyways?" Ed accepted the hand and stood up.

"Just go talk to Winry!"

"Well, what am I supposed to tell her?!"

"I DON'T KNOW AND I REALLY DON'T CARE! JUST GO TALK TO HER AND GET YOUR HEADS ON STRAIGHT ALREADY!" Al shouted at his older brother.

Ed held up his hands in surrender. "Fine! I'll go talk to her..." He had wanted to talk to her anyways, but he had been too nervous to.

Al sighed, relieved. "Good. I think she's up in her room."

"Yeah, yeah..." Ed started walking slowly towards the stairs.

Al rolled his eyes and went outside.

Ed went up the staircase and stood in front of Winry's door. He swallowed, then knocked on her door twice.

A few seconds later, the door opened and Winry stood before him.

"Ed?" She opened the door wider.

"Yeah... um... Winry?" Ed said nervously.

"Yes?" She looked like she was expecting something. If only Ed could tell what...

"I just want to say... um..." He rubbed the back of his neck.

"...yes...?"

"I'm um..." Ed gulped. Then his head dropped slightly. "I'm sorry about earlier. I-I don't know why I did that. It just... I'm sorry."

**(A/N: So that was in Ed's point of view. Now we randomly switch over to what Winry is thinking/feeling. Just to let you know so you're not confused.)**

That was _not _what Winry was expecting at all.

"What?" Maybe she misheard...

Ed gulped again. "I-I'm sorry about earlier o-on the porch. I don't know why I did that and... I'm sorry."

Winry's grip on the doorknob tightened. He was _apologizing_ for earlier?! Did he not mean it? But she thought he... maybe she was wrong. Maybe he had meant something totally different at the train station six months ago. But...

"Right." She said through gritted teeth. "That all you came to say?" She was doing her best not to cry.

Ed wouldn't look at her. "...yeah. I guess."

"Right, then." She stepped back. "GOODBYE!" She slammed the door in his face.

It was a minute later when she heard him going back downstairs. When Winry was sure Ed was gone, she sat on her bed and held her head in her hands.

And she began to cry.

* * *

**Not what you guys were expecting, was it?**

**R&R... you know the drill. I like all reviews. I even like the bad ones!(but I would prefer good ones over bad ones. (:)**


	11. The Idiot

**Chapter 11**

That did not go quite as Ed had expected.

He had thought that that was what Winry had wanted to hear. But instead, she looks like she's about to cry and slams the door on him. Maybe he had gotten it wrong... _Girls are so complicated,_ Ed groaned. Alchemy was a ton easier than this.

So since that meeting didn't turn out well and he's not sure why, Ed decided to go talk to Al. Better than talking to Pikako, at any rate.

Ed opens the door to his and Al's bedroom and peeks inside. Al is there, laying on his bed and reading a piece of paper.

"What's that?" Ed asks Al, stepping into the room.

Al sat straight up, startled, and folded the paper hastily. "Nothing!" His cheeks had a faint red blush to them.

Ed sighed. Why did everyone seem to have secrets around him? Normally, he would have bugged Al about it more, but not right now. He sat down on his bed and got ready to speak, but Al beat him to it.

"Just wondering, why did I hear a door slam a few minutes ago?"

At least Al saved Ed the awkwardness of trying to start up the conversation.

"Er..." Well... _some_ awkwardness. "That was Winry..."

"Ah." Al swung his legs over the side of the bed. "What happened?"

"Well..." Ed related their conversation to Al.

When he was done, Al looked ready to punch something. Actually, someone. Probably Ed.

"I can't believe you did that, Edward!" Uh oh. The full first name.

"What? I thought that that's what she wanted!"

"No!" Al was trying not to shout. "What she wanted was what happened on the porch!"

And now the confusion. "But I thought-"

"What is so hard about this, Ed?! I mean... c'mon!"

"...I'm not following."

Al sighed. "She didn't want you to apologize."

"But when I kissed her, she didn't kiss back, or anything!" Ed said, exasperated.

"Because you caught her by surprise!" And back to yelling. "You come home and don't do anything romantic wise towards her, then all of a sudden you kiss her! SHE'S GOING TO BE TAKEN OFF GUARD!"

Ed thought about this. Even he had to admit that it _was_ true... the best he did for her was make her pie, and that was only because he had destroyed her room. So kissing her randomly would surprise her.

Ed slapped his forehead. "I'm such an idiot!"

"You finally get it?" Al asked hopefully.

"Yeah... I think so."

Al sighed again, relieved. "Finally..." He muttered.

"Yeah, yeah." Ed rolled his eyes.

"So?" Al prodded.

Ed thought for a second. "I'm going to make it up to Winry."

"Good." Al stretched. "You have your work cut out for you. She probably won't even want to look at you for a while."

"Yeah, yeah..." Ed turned and stretched himself out on his bed. He had a lot of planning to do.

* * *

**Ok... not that good... and it's not 1000 words. I'm getting a lot of exceptions now. XD. Do you guys mind the exceptions?**

**So I'm kind of looking forward to the next chapter, but I'm going to type it up later. I'm busy playing a game with my friend right now... like right now. He's shooting at some guys trying to invade his base and I'm supposed to go help him. Oh well. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and are enjoying this whole story!**

**R&R!**


	12. Cleaning Up

**Chapter 12**

It was a week after the... incident on the porch. After Ed had apologized for it, Winry had done her best not to look at him. The only time she did was when she was going downstairs and he was about to go upstairs. Ed didn't make a move to try to talk to her, instead just stepping to the side to let her go down first. She had quickly walked past him, looking the other way. When she was walking to the front door, she could feel Ed's eyes on her. It took every bit of willpower and dignity Winry had to not turn around and ask him why he was staring at her. The idiot. He even messed up apologizing!

Right now, Winry was just getting up and going to her workshop to get ready for an automail appointment that was scheduled in a hour. When she opened the door to her workshop, her eyes widened with surprise.

Everything was one hundred percent clean! Every stray tool she had lying around was out of sight, most likely in the tool box. The floor was swept and apparently mopped since it shone from the light. The tables were wiped off, leaving only the deepest stains that were impossible to get out. Her automail parts were stacked neatly to one side of the room; and the spare automail limbs she had were nice and organized. She walked over to her tool box and opened it. Every tool was in it's place and was shining like new. The only way Winry could tell that they were her old tools and not brand new ones was by her initials carved in each handle.

"Wha..." Winry turned around, surveying the spotless room.

Finally, she spotted one thing out of place. Taped to the side of the table where her patients lay was a piece of paper. She walked over and plucked it off and read:

_Please go to the oak tree at noon today._

It wasn't signed, but Winry had her suspicions about who it was from.

"Noon, huh..."

* * *

**Exception chapter... again. I just want to end it here so then I can switch to Ed's view easier. And leave you hanging a bit. Hahahaha... not my best. I _would_ have posted this yesterday but... I didn't have any ideas. :3. Then I slept on it. Then I woke up, yawned, sat up, and it came to me! ...I have no clue how. But oh well.**

**Do you guys mind the exception chapters that don't have 1000 words? **

**R&R!**


	13. The First Step

**Chapter 13**

Ed felt in a good mood today.

Because today was the day he was going to try to fix his relationship with Winry. He was the one to have gotten the idea to clean Winry's workshop before she woke up. He and Al come up with a little diagram for fun. Cleaning the workshop was like the band aid on a wound. Then the next part was the actual healing of the wound.

Of course, the second part was Al's idea.

He wanted Ed to try to fix his and Winry's relationship by himself... but then Ed was an idiot, like always, and had no idea what to do for Winry, other than the workshop cleaning, and that wouldn't be enough. So Al had dropped a few hints here and there, saying about how nice it is to go on a picnic on a really nice day, and stuff like that. Finally, Ed had caught on. It only took him a week to do so, too.

So the planning was decent enough. But now came the execution.

Ed had gotten up an hour and a half earlier than usual, with the help of Al of course, and had been as quiet as possible when cleaning the workshop. Al volunteered to stand guard for in case Winry came down. Pinako see Al there and asked him what he was doing, but Al said he couldn't say. He and Ed wanted to keep it a secret from everyone at that time. Mainly because it was kind of embarrassing and awkward to say, but they had wanted it to be a surprise too.

Unfortuneatly, Ed wouldn't be able to see Winry's reaction to the workshop. He would be busy elsewhere, while Al would be helping him. Forntunately, Winry didn't go near the room Ed was working in. They were thankful for the automail appointment Winry had to keep her distracted for a while while they could clean up so she would never know they were in there. **(A/N: Yes, I am saying it like this on purpose. You do not know what room they were working in until later. Live with it.)**

Finally, Ed was ready.

Ish.

He still had one problem...

He had no idea what to say and he was terrible with words. He know what he wanted to get through to Winry... but Ed had no idea on how to do that, exactly.

"Al, what am I supposed to say to Winry if she shows up?" Ed asked his younger brother for advice, something he never thought he'd do.

Al smiled. "I know what you should say, but you have to figure that part for yourself. This is between you guys, not you guys and me."

"I think you were nicer when you were in the tin can." Ed mumbled.

* * *

It was five minutes till noon. Ed was leaning against the oak tree where his and Al's old house was. He was trying not to wiggle nervously, but he still tapped his fingers against the rough bark of the tree. He was glancing around, looking to see if Winry was coming or not. What if she guessed that it was from him and didn't show up? Or what if she _didn't_ know it was him and thought that he was a stranger and so wouldn't show up?**  
**

There were too many 'if's'.

Finally, Ed turned to his right and saw Winry coming towards him, her arms crossed and a frown on her face.

When she reached the top of the hill, she stopped several yards away from Ed. "So it _was_ you who cleaned my workroom."

Ed coughed nervously. "Ehm... yes."

"I thought so." Winry stated. "So why am I here exactly?" She asked, skipping over the part where she was supposed to thank him.

"Em... I was wondering..." Ed put his hands in his pockets and fiddled with the lining, looking down at the ground. "If you'd like to go on a picnic with me?" His head tiled upwards slightly, just enough to look at Winry's face.

Winry was thinking about it. To her, it was quite obvious he was trying to make up for the apology he had given her a week ago. If she declined, then... wouldn't that, possibly, give Ed the wrong idea? That she _didn't_ like him in a... romantic sense? No way was she going there again.

"All right then. A picnic it is." She allowed herself to drop her arms to her sides and remove the frown off of her face. She wasn't smiling, but she wasn't frowning anymore.

Ed let out a small, relieved sigh. The first step was complete.

Now it was onto the hardest step.

* * *

**There you have it! CHAPTER... *checks* CHAPTER 13! *circus music* Yayz! **

**Yet again... excetption chapter. *sigh* I'm getting too much of those... making me sad... but not this one. So I hope you enjoyed and the next chapter should be up tomorrow! ...maybe. Maybe the day after. That's going to be one hard chapter ya know... phew.**

**R&R!**


	14. The Picnic

_Disclaimer: I do not own FMA(YES! FIRST TIME I GOT IT UP HERE! AHAHAHAHA!)_

**Chapter 14**

"Wow." Winry muttered, slightly impressed.

They were sitting, on opposite sides, of a blue and white checkered picnic blanket. **(A/N: I know. Most are RED and white, but deal with it or stop reading right now.)** There were dishes of the most delicious looking food Winry had ever seen. There was some chicken that was bathed in a light, shiny brown sauce with little seeds in it**.(Aka: sesame chicken. There's probably going to be Chinese food since I have a craving for it right now and it's really all I can think about...)** Then there was little bowls made out of bread and filled with a mixture of different kinds of seafood and vegetables, all mixed in a creamy white sauce. For a side dish, there was some spiced bread, still warm, with some butter on top. To drink there was a pitcher of ice cold lemonade that looked so divine in it's own way. **(A/N: I don't know how lemonade can look 'divine'. SO DON'T ASK ME! Just go with it! It was begging to be written...)** And for dessert, there was a small pan of the most delectable coffeecake Winry had ever laid eyes on.**  
**

Ed eyed her, a small smile on his face. "What do you think?"

"It... it all looks so delicious!" Winry couldn't lie, even though she was still mad at him. "Did you cook all this?"

"Al helped me... and some of the food is from Xing." Ed admitted.

"That's why it looks so good."

Ed probably would've went on a rant if they were out there for any other reason. But, seeing as he needed to get on Winry's good side, he decided to swallow his words and nod his head ever so slightly.

"Erm..." He fumbled. "So... s-shall we eat?" He shrugged his shoulders.

Winry involintairly rolled her eyes. "As if _you_ don't want to eat."

Ok, so she was saying a lot of sarcasm, but hey! At least Winry was talking to him.

* * *

The meal went by in awkward silence. The only sounds to be heard was their plastic silverware brushing against their paper plates. Finally they had both eaten their fill of the main course.

"Want some coffeecake?" Ed asked Winry, not looking at her. "Al said he learned the recipe from May."

Winry blinked several times, tired. "Sure! Sounds good!"

Ed sat on his knees and carefully cut out a piece. He put it on a clean plate and stood on his knees, reaching over to hand it to Winry. Unfortunately, his flesh leg had fallen asleep from the extended period of not moving. So when he put weight on it, he wobbled and tried to gain his balance by putting his free hand on the nearest possible thing to steady him.

In this case, it was Winry's leg. Several inches _above_ her kneecap. **(A/N: I HAD NO CONTROL! MY HANDS! THEY MOVE ON THEIR OWN, I SWEAR!)**

Ed and Winry's eyes widened at the exact same second. They both turned scarlet, although Ed was a deeper scarlet, and quickly moved to sit back in their normal positions, not looking at each other the whole time.

Although, somehow, Ed had seemed to move closer to Winry than he was before. Only a little bit, but it was still closer.

"Erm... h-here's your coffeecake." Ed tried to keep his hand from shaking from embarrassment as he held out the plate to Winry. Somehow it had lived through the moment.

"T-thanks!" She hastily accepted it. She had just begun to eat it when she heard Ed take a sharp intake of breath.

"W-winry?" He asked, cautiously. Might as well get it out now.

She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. She realized that he had gotten even closer. Or maybe she had moved even closer. She couldn't tell or remember. "Yes?"

"I um..." Ed's blush from earlier still hadn't left his face. Although it had lightened to just his cheeks, it now grew darker again. "I'm sorry about... I didn't think you... I mean..." He bit his lower lip. He was no good with words about how he was feeling.

"...yes...?" Winry prodded.

Ed gulped. "I-I'm sorry about... apologizing about kissing you." No turning back. "I did mean it! I promise I did! It's just that... at first you weren'tkissingbackandIgotworriedthatIhaddonesometh ingwrongthen-" He started speeding up, trying to get it over with as soon as possible.

"Stop!" Winry yelled loud enough for Ed to hear. He was silent in an instant. "Please, just go more slowly, ok?" Winry looked at Ed with pleading eyes. She knew how hard it was for him to tell his feelings and she didn't want to stop him, but it wouldn't do them any good if she couldn't understand him.

Ed took a deep breath. "Ok. I did mean it when I kissed you, I swear! It's just... I apologized because... I wasn't sure if you wanted it or not." Winry looked ready to say something, but Ed wasn't going to stop now. If he didn't get it out now, he maybe never would. "But that was only because you weren't kissing back and I got worried! Then Al made me realize that you were probably just shocked!"

Winry sighed, annoyed. "How could you not think I wanted it? Remember the train station...?"

"I know but... I thought... that maybe you had changed your mind..." Ed gulped and looked away.

Winry rolled her eyes. "You idiot! I kissed you on the cheek! How does that not clue in that I meant what I said?!"

"I thought that maybe it was just a friendly kiss on the cheek!"

"A _friendly_ kiss on the cheek?! WHO DOES THAT?!"

"WELL, I DON'T KNOW! BUT THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT!"

"HOW COME YOU CAN'T EVER USE YOUR BRAIN CORRECTLY, SHRIMP?!"

"HEY! I'M NOT A SHRIMP ANYMORE, GEARHEAD! AND MAYBE IF YOU STOPPED HITTING ME OVER THE HEAD WITH YOUR DAMNED WRENCH I WOULDN'T LOSE SO MANY BRAIN CELLS!" Ed yelled at Winry, his breath brushing over her face.

_His breath brushing over her face._

While they were yelling, they had moved closer to each other. Now, their faces were only inches apart from each others.

"Eh..." Winry felt her face turn red as she realized their close proximity.

Ed was curious for a second, then he too realized it. His eyes widened and he blushed fiercely. His instinct was to move away as quickly as possible and apologize and try to act as though that part never happened. But then he thought of how much Al would kill him if he backed away now. Normally Al was gentle, but if Ed messed this up... Ed didn't want to think about it.

So, Ed gulped down his nervousness and embarrassment as best he could. "I'm sorry." He said, his voice barely a whisper. "I'm sorry that I said I was sorry after... the porch."

Normally, Winry would have laughed at that statement. But now she could tell that it was taking everything Ed had to say that. He was genuinely sorry. "Ok, then." Winry leaned in ever so closer, their lips almost touching.

_WHACK!_

Ed fell backwards, half on the blanket and half on the grass, and stayed there, groaning in pain from the new bump on his forehead.

"Now we're even." Winry smirked at him, her wrench, now removed from her back pocket, fit snugly in her hand.

* * *

**AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I got you going there with that little romantic moment at the end, didn't I? AHAHAHAHAHAHA! ...what? You didn't _really_ think that it was going to be that easy, did you? **

**Now... at first I was tempted to add a little bit in that I've been _dying _to add in and end it. But I just can't do it. NOT SO SOON! Besides... there has to be a little more... zing to it. Like... well... you'll see soon enough.**

**R&R! **

**And, since I am SOOOOO happy that I remembered the disclaimer at the beginning and not adding it in randomly somewhere(maybe), I am going to a special little thing. You guys can tell me suggestions of what you want to see, and I'll listen to them all! No guarantees that I'll _do_ them, but, if there are enough, I will try to get one or two in there. And also I'm just really happy today! AHAHAHAHAHA!**

**...or just really tired and I'm getting it mixed up with happiness. So tell me your suggestions of what you want to see happen! :D**

**MERRY SUMMER! HA. HA. HA!**


	15. Normal is Good, Right?

**Chapter 15**

After the picnic, Edward and Winry started acting normal again. Talking, yelling, throwing wrenches, fighting over milk, the works.

But that's not what Ed wanted.

It was good, he admitted, and he was glad that they were friends again but... he wanted... more. All he needed to do was to get the courage to tell Winry that.

Yeah. That's _all_ he needed to do.

Ed banged his fist against his bed frame in frustration.

"Brother?" Al asked from his bed, worried about his stupid older brother. "Is everything ok?"

"Oh, sure." Ed said sarcastically. "Everything's just _great_!" He groaned and laid on his bed all the way.

Al rolled his eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing you would be able to understand right now, Al." Ed mumbled from his new position.

Al crossed his arms over his chest. "And why not?"

"Because you've never even done anything with May yet."

"Yes I have! I've trained with her!" Even though he was the smarter brother in cases like these, Al could still be slow.

"I mean in a... more than a friend way." Ed crossed his arms under his head.

_Well... I guess now is as a good as time as ever..._ "Actually..." Al looked down at the ground.

Ed sat up again, sensing something in the way Al was acting. "What?"

Al didn't reply.

"Oh..." Ed realized what Al was trying to say without saying it. "You guys are like... dating or what?"

"Um... we... hang out from time to time as more than friends..."

Al had... a girlfriend? The little bean? And worse than that... _his younger brother had a girlfriend!_ Ed barely even did anything with Winry besides fight... but here was his little brother, dating! There had to be some kind of laws against this kind of thing! "What?! Why didn't you tell me sooner?!" Ed yelled.

"Because I knew you would be mad like you are right now!"

"I'm only mad because you didn't tell me!" Ed lied.

Al scoffed. "As if!"

"Grrrr... maybe you were better in the tin can after all!" Ed fell backwards on his bed again.

Al humphed. "I didn't want to tell you because I knew you would get jealous that me and May had... _gotten_ somewhere while you haven't made any progress with Winry after the train station six months ago!"

Ed shot up. "How do you know about that?!" He hissed.

_Oops._ Al thought nervously. He wasn't supposed to know about that yet. "Err... umm..."

"Al..." Al could hear the anger in his older brother's voice.

"Ed... d-don't get mad!" It was only a matter of time before Ed found out anyways.

Ed glared at Al, trying to fit the pieces together. Ed hadn't told him, that's for sure. So that only leaves one person. The one person who had the ability to talk to Al over the past six months. "Winry..." Ed growled.

"It's not her fault, brother!" Al shot up and ran to the door before Ed got there. "And it's not as if she told me-" Al stopped short.

Ed stood up and ran to Al. "Told you what?!"

"N-nothing." Al had never been very good at lying, especially to Ed.

"ALPHONSE ELRIC! WHAT HAVE YOU TWO BEEN WRITING ABOUT?!"

"THAT'S NOT FOR ME TO TELL YOU, ED!" And it wasn't. It was up to Winry.

"THEN LET ME GO ASK WINRY!" Ed tried to move Al aside by pushing him by the shoulders, but Al wouldn't budge.

"YOU'RE NOT GOING TO ASK! YOU'RE JUST GOING TO YELL AND THAT'S THE LAST THING YOU GUYS NEED RIGHT NOW!"

Ed blinked. "What?"

Al sighed. "Never mind. Just don't ask Winry yet, ok?"

Ed narrowed his eyes. "I'll ask her if I want to!"

"Don't, brother! She'll just get even more mad than she is right now!"

"Than... she is right now?" That seemed to be news to Ed.

"Yes!" Al glared at his brother.

"W-why is she mad right now?!"

"As if you don't know!" Al scoffed.

"I don't!"

Al sighed. "You are such a moron, Ed."

Ed set his jaw. "JUST TELL ME WHY SHE'S MAD RIGHT NOW!"

"Maybe not quite _mad_..."

"What?!"

"More like..." Al chewed his bottom lip, thinking of the right word. "I think she's more like... disappointed."

"What?" Ed asked for the third time.

"She's disappointed, Edward!" Al crossed his arms over his chest.

"I got that! But why?" Ed asked, exasperated.

"I can't keep on helping you with your next to none love life, Ed! Figure that out for yourself for once!"

"Ugh! Why does this have to be so damn complicated!" Ed stormed back over to his bed and sat down forcefully, but not before kicking the side of it in frustration.

Al sighed. "It really isn't that complicated, brother. _You_ just can't figure it out." Al returned to his bed as well.

"Because it's so complicated!"

"No, it's not! It's really quite simple..."

Ed huffed. "You're only saying that because you know why she's disappointed."

"Partly." Al admitted.

"Knew it." Ed sighed. "So..." He smirked at Al. "What's going on, exactly, between you and May?"

Al blushed. "Nothing, really."

"Aww, come on. Tell me all about the little bean."

Al groaned. "I really don't feel like it right now."

Ed stood up. "Right then. If you won't tell, then I'm going to go search for you and Winry's letters." He started walking towards the door. "Bye!" Ed's hand was on the handle.

"Ed!" Al blush deepened. Obviously there was something in those letters that Al didn't want Ed to see either, which only made him want to find them all the more.

"Yes?" Ed asked as innocently as possible, which wasn't that innocent.

Al sighed. He would tell Ed a _bit_ about May and leave out a few little... details and parts.

"All right! I'll tell you."

"What made you change your mind?" Ed sat back down on the edge of his bed.

Al rolled his eyes. "Just shut up, Ed.

* * *

**Woot! The official chapter 15! :D. So... I though this chapter was going to be different but... I guess it kind of came out. I really don't know where from. All I know is I was talking to some guy about emos and listening to Taylor Swift's 'I Knew You were Trouble' while writing this. So, I hope you enjoyed this. The next chapter should be out soon... and, oh! It won't really tell about Al and May. Sorry. But that's going to be a different fanfiction so... just wait for that one to come out... after this one is done. Yeah. Long wait, I guess. LIVE WITH IT AND HOLD ON TO YO PANTS! So, R&R! Go tell all your friends about this who are(or maybe even not) FMA Brotherhood fans! Later!**


	16. Equivalent Exchange

**Chapter 16**

"Well, that was kind of disappointing to hear." Ed huffed when Al finished his stories about May.

"How so?"

"I thought there would be more..."

Al coughed nervously. "Well, that's all there is, so live with it."

Ed narrowed his eyes at Al. "Uh huh."

"Right... so now what are you going to do about Winry?"

"Oh..." Ed scratched the back of his head. "First I have to get what she's disappointed about..." Ed looked at Al hopefully.

"Nope. Not saying." Al crossed his arms.

"Who said I was asking you, anyways?!"

"Riiight."

Ed stood up forcefully. "Well, I guess it's time to do a little detective work!" He grinned evilly.

"Brother..." Al shook his head with a sigh. "You don't need to do _anything_ except think things through!" Al smirked. "Oh wait, I forgot. YOU'RE TERRIBLE AT THAT!"

Ed waved it away. "Oh whatever."

"You probably couldn't think things through to save your life! And in this case, your life may very well be on the line!"

"You're exaggerating, Al."

"Am I?"

Ed thought about that. There was Winry's damned wrench... "Well, no matter. I'll get it long before my life is in danger."

"Riiight."

"You know, you are a very irritating person once people get to know you."

"Not as irritating as you."

* * *

First, Ed has to figure out exactly what Winry is disappointed about and work from there. Simple. Right?

Wrong. Girls were _way_ too complicated for Edward. Especially Winry. Mainly Winry.

_So let's see... I think she was ok when I got back... startled, but ok. _Ed was sitting on the porch, trying to think of what was wrong. _Maybe she's disappointed that... that what? What could she be disappointed about?! Wait, didn't Al say something about her being sad too? _Ed tried to think back. _He had said she was mad... not sad, but mad. But could she be sad as well? What could she be sad, mad, and disappointed about that has to do with me?! Ugh! Why does this have to be so complicated?! _To Ed, this was a thousand times harder than alchemy ever was and ever will be. Even harder than trying to defeat equivalent exchange.

Equivalent exchange.

_Equivalent exchange! I'll give half of my life to you, if you give half of yours to me!_

Ed's eyes widened. _That's right... he had used equivalent exchange at the train station six months ago... could it..._

_It's nonsense! How about I just give you my whole life?! _

That's what Winry had said. Then she started freaking out and going on about giving eighty five percent of her life to Ed. _Is that it? Is _that_ what she's disappointed, sad, and mad about? That I haven't said anything about that to her yet?_ It made the most sense to Ed. It's all he had to go on, so it would have to be right. It had to be.

* * *

**Yes. Exception chapter... again. 507 words, not including this little part. Oh, and minus the 'Chapter 16' it's only 505 words. Well, it has to do. Too bad. Next chapter _should_ be the second to last chapter. Should be. It might be one of those chapters that I have all planned out and thennnnn... scratch that. It's NOT going to be the second to last chapter. I forgot something... oh well. You guys probably don't mind that much, right? R&R!**


	17. A Date?

**Chapter 17**

"W-Winry?"

Winry turned away from the kitchen counter and towards Ed's voice that was coming behind her. "Yes?"

Ed stared down at the ground like he was trying to melt it with only his eyes. "Winry..." Was that a bead of sweat on his forehead?

"Just say it already, Ed! I don't have all day!"

Ed swallowed, hard. "Would..." His face turned scarlet. "Would you like to go out with me!" He didn't really ask, he just... sort of shouted it.

Winry blinked, surprised. "What?" She had to have misheard him...

Ed swallowed again. "W-would you like to go out with me?" This time it was more timid.

Blush crept to Winry's cheeks. Ed was... Ed was asking her out? Since when? "...Y-yeah. T-that... that would be... fine!" She couldn't help herself.

Now Ed was surprised. "R-really?"

Winry coughed, trying to get over her embarrassment, but the blush remained nonetheless. "I said yes. It's fine with me."

"...Ok!" Ed smiled nervously.

Winry rolled her eyes. He was such a hopeless idiot. "So... when?"

"Oh! Oh, right um... tomorrow afternoon?"

"Sounds good to me."

"Y-yeah. Ok." Ed quickly left the room, his face still scarlet.

* * *

So that didn't go quite as Ed planned.

He had meant to ask Winry about the train station and if she meant it then... but anyways. He couldn't do it. And then somehow, asking her out just came from his mouth. He had no control over it, it just happened. At least she didn't kill him with her wrench. Ed sat on his bed.

_I will ask her tomorrow on our... date. _Ed did a fist punch in the air in determination.

"What are you doing, Brother?" Al said from the doorway.

"Al!" Ed jumped. "Nothing! Just... sitting here!" He smiled nervously.

"So... did you finally get it through your thick skull?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Ed mumbled.

"And?"

"And... I may have kind of... asked Winry out?"

Al smiled. "Finally..."

"What was that?"

"Nothing!"

* * *

Ed felt like he was going to faint. Actually, he felt more like he was going to die. Yeah. That worked better with what he was feeling while he waited out on the porch for Winry.

Ed really had no idea what to do on a date. He had never been on one before, and hadn't really thought about it either. Hopefully he wouldn't mess up. Hopefully.

"So, do you actually have anything planned for today?" Winry came out the front door. She was wearing her normal white tank top and black miniskirt with her hair let down.

"Eh? Oh! I was thinking we could go out to eat and then just... hang out around the town?" That's what you do on a date, isn't it?

"Sounds good." Winry smiled at Ed. Apparently so. Or maybe she was just being nice to Ed.

Ed gulped and Winry decided to take pity on the poor guy.

"Loosen up, ok? Just... be yourself and try to have fun!" She smiled as sweetly as possible at him.

"R-right." _Loosen up? How can I 'loosen up'?! _Ed gave her a forced smile.

Winry sighed. _This is going to be a long day..._ She thought. She was hoping that it would just be her and Ed having fun at least, but apparently not. Unless she could somehow get him to act normal again. Hmm...

"Hey, before we leave, do you want to grab something to drink?" Winry offered.

"Huh?" Ed blinked. "Yeah. Sure."

"Come on!" She started walking back into the house, grabbing Ed by the arm along the way.

She sat him down at the table and got out two glasses. When Ed wasn't looking, she filled them with milk.

"That should do it..." she mumbled to herself. "Here you go, Ed!" She handed one of the glasses to Ed, who accepted, not noticing it was milk as he was distracted by his thoughts.

"Thanks." He took a gulp. The liquid had barely touched his tongue before he was spewing it all over the table. "HEY! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU GIVE ME MILK FOR?!" He yelled at Winry. She smiled.

"Oh, nothing. Now let's go!" She ran back outside to the porch, Ed following behind her, grumbling about how stupid and gross milk is.

"Are you going to grumble the whole time, Edward?" Winry had that glint in her eye.

Ed's eyes widened. "N-no!"

She smiled sweetly again. "Ok!"

"Amazing..." Ed muttered under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. Forget about it." Ed smiled genuinely at Winry. "Right then! Let's go!"

* * *

**Ok, from here on out for the next few chapters, it's going to be really hard for me to write so it may not come out so fast. I think... I think I need some SunnyD for these chapters... but... I'm banned from it and from orange juice. Great. Just great.**

**Oh well. I hope you enjoyed this! R&R!**


	18. Out On the Town

**Chapter 18**

"So um... wanna eat here?" Ed asked Winry. The milk had 'waken' him, but he was still nervous, of course.

"Yeah!" Winry and Ed were standing in front of a cafe on one of the corners of Risenbool. "I came here a few weeks ago, before you came back, and the food was delicious!"

Ed smiled at Winry. "I don't think it can be that good compared to yours." He said it so casually. It had just slipped out without without Ed's permission. But to him, it was true.

"Really?" Winry looked stunned that Ed had actually complimented her, and it wasn't on her automail for fighting purposes. Even so, she could feel a small blush appear on her cheeks.

Ed swallowed as he realized what he had just said. His face turned a deep red and his eyes widened so much Winry thought they were going to pop out of his head. "Y-yeah! Of c-course!"

Winry sighed. "Can't you give me a compliment without freaking out for once, Ed?"

"Eh?"

"Hm. Forget about it. Now come on, aren't you hungry like usual, Ed?"

"That milk you gave me made me lose my appetite..."

"Well, once you have a plate of their food in front of you, it'll be back. I guarantee it."

* * *

"Hey, you were right, Winry. This food _is_ really good!" Ed admitted after swallowing some rice and vegetables.

Winry smirked. "I told you. And for the record, I'm _always_ right!"

Ed swallowed another bite of rice. "Riiight."

"Don't be a smart ass, Ed!"

"Blame Al..."

"And why should I do that? He's nice! Unlike you!"

Ed scoffed. "Yeah, right. You tell yourself that, Winry. You keep on telling yourself that..."

Winry scowled at Ed. "He does get irritating sometimes... but at least he's not irritating _all_ of the time!"

"Yeah, yeah. Unlike me." Ed smirked at Winry's look of surprise. "That's what you were going to say, wasn't it?"

"Meh..." Winry stared down at her food. "Whatever."

Ed smiled. Good times. "So, how's your automail going?" It was all he could think of to ask.

"Oh?" Winry looked up at him. "Good, I guess. I'm trying to learn some new techniques to improve my automail."

"Really? How could you improve it? I mean, it's so good already!"

"...what?"

"Yeah. It's already really light and moves incredibly well. I always thought that automail was supposed to be heavy and irritating, but yours isn't, and I'm really impressed by how much you've improved it over the years." He smiled at Winry.

"...Thanks... Ed."

"You're welcome." Ed continued to eat like normal.

Winry's head was spinning. He... had... complimented her? Without freaking out? Maybe there was something wrong with the rice and vegetables... or maybe the milk had mixed up his head? But wouldn't it have shown sooner? Or maybe... Ed was just being nice. Ed... being... nice. He _had_ been nice before, you know, saving all of Amestris and all of that, but he had never really been nice to just one individual person. Except for Al, but even then he was still sometimes mean to Al.

"Are... are you ok?" Winry asked warily.

"Yeah... why?" Ed looked at her, puzzled.

"Just checking..."

"Ok..."

It was a few minutes later when Edward looked Winry in the eye.

Winry noticed this and saw that he was nervous. "What is it, Ed?"

"Winry..." It was now or never.

Suddenly, Ed felt a tap at his shoulder. "Hi, Eddie!" A familiar voice chirped in his ear.

* * *

**I think I'll end this chapter there. ^-^. I COULD work on it and publish a new chapter tonight, but... I don't think I will. I'll let you guys wait until tomorrow! :D**

**I hope you enjoyed it! Sorry about them getting OOC... but I'm TRYING to get them to be romantic, and they aren't romantic in the show so... sorry about that. R&R!**


	19. An Old Friend

**Chapter 19**

"Ah!" Ed jumped several feet in the air, at least. The voice, definitely a girl's, was so close to his ear that he could feel the warm breath that came with it.

"Jac?!" Winry's eyes widened and her jaw dropped in surprise. How Jac had managed to sneak up on Ed like that without Winry knowing, she had no idea. She was probably too distracted by Ed to notice... but still. She was _right there_! She would have thought she would have seen her a little bit.

"Hey, Winry!" Jac stood up straight again and smiled.

Winry did her best not to let the anger show through her voice. "What... what are you doing here, Jac?!"

"Obviously I came in for a bite to eat! And then I saw you guys!" Jac replied cheerfully. "Hey, if you guys aren't busy, how about we hang out today?" Jac offered excitedly.

"What?" Ed had now calmed down from the shock and was turned towards Jac.

Jac giggled. "I said we could hang out today! I don't have anything planned for today, and Winry told me that Friday's are her days off of automail work! So unless you guys have plans, we can hang out!" She said it like it was the best thing in the world.

Winry groaned inwardly. She hadn't forgotten what Jac had done the last time she met Ed. "We kind of _do_ have plans, Jac." It wasn't that she didn't like Jac, it was that Jac was way too flirty with Ed. Also, Winry and Ed _were_ on a date, so that counts as plans, right?

"Oh, really?" Jac looked disappointed.

Ed coughed. "Yeah, but hey! We'll be more than glad to hang out with you some other time, ok?"

Jac brightened up. "Ok!" Jac smirked at Winry. Then she leaned over and kissed Ed on the cheek, lingering far longer than Winry had when she had kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks! See you guys later!" And with that, she walked out of the cafe.

Ed was frozen, his hands twitching. "Meh..." He muttered.

Winry's jaw fell open and her eyes bulged. "Did she..." Winry stood up. "I'll be right back." Without waiting for an answer from Ed, she, too, walked out of the cafe.

Ed was still in his seat, twitching from the kiss.

* * *

"Jac!" Winry looked left and right in front of the cafe.

"Oh, hey!" Jac turned around and smirked at Winry. "I thought you had plans."

"What the hell did you do that for, Jac?!"

"Do what?" Jac asked innocently.

"Stop being a smart ass and answer my question!" Winry stormed over to Jac and looked her in the eye.

Jac sighed, not fazed by Winry at all. "Well, you said you guys weren't dating, so if that's the case, then I want to go out with him. Simple enough, really."

"But why do you keep kissing him every time you see him?! You barely even know him!"

"It's only a kiss on the cheek."

Winry's hands balled into fists and she wished she had brought her wrench along.

"Getting mad, are we? Or perhaps you're getting jealous of me?" Jac smirked.

That calmed Winry down, surprisingly. She smirked back at Jac. "Really? Why would I be jealous of you?"

Jac looked surprised by this sudden change of attitude from Winry, but she quickly recovered. "Because I kissed him on the cheek and left him speechless, and before that I blew a kiss at him and left him speechless. How about you?"

Winry smiled, then turned around and started walking, slowly, back to the cafe. "I have you beat any day. Now, excuse me, but Ed and I have plans for today." Winry waved one hand without even turning around. "See you later."

Jac blinked as Winry entered the cafe. "What..." Then she smiled. "Good girl." She turned around on her heel and walked away, her smile widening.

* * *

**So there ya go! Chapter 19... yayz. For those of you who are interested in Jac, she kind of has a little part of me in there. Hm. I wonder how many of you can figure that part out.**

**So Chapter 20 issssss... that one MIGHT be the second to last chapter. Possibly. Not for sure yet. I don't know! I'll put my ending plan into action when the time is right and never before. So just wait patiently and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! It would have come out sooner, but I accidentally deleted it along with the second chapter of my other fanfic 'The Cafe'. So it's a bit later than I planned... but it's still on the same day, so whatever. You'll live. So... R&R! You know the drill.**


	20. I Win

**Chapter 20**

Winry walked back into the cafe and found the table where she and Ed had been sitting empty.

_Huh? Where'd he go?_ Winry looked around the cafe, but didn't see Ed.

"May I help you, Miss Winry?" The waitress who was assigned to their table asked from behind Winry.

Winry spun around. "Thank you. I'm just looking for my friend who was with me in here."

"The blonde gentleman? I'm not sure where he is, but I didn't see him leave the cafe, if that helps." The waitress offered.

"Thank you. I guess he'll be right back." Winry smiled at the young lady before returning to her seat. She was only there for a few seconds when Ed slid into the seat across from her.

"Where were you?" Winry asked him.

"I was just using the restroom so don't get all fired up."

"Oh." Winry felt a small blush on her cheeks. "Sorry."

" Yeah, yeah." Ed looked at Winry, obviously expecting something. "So?" He asked after another minute or so.

Winry looked Ed in the eye. "So, what?"

"What happened with you and Jac?"

Oh. That so. "Nothing much."

"Oh, come on. When you stormed out of here you looked ready to explode, and now you're as calm as can be."

Winry gulped. "Well... you know... we talked."

"That was a quick talk."

"We didn't have much to say, I guess." Winry glared at Ed. That part was true. She had only wanted to tell Jac to, basically, back away from Ed.

"Uh huh." Ed didn't buy it.

"Well, think whatever else you want, but that's the truth."

"Riiight."

"Al seriously does that too?"

"The 'riiight'?"

"Yeah, that." Winry rolled her eyes.

"Yup. He did it a lot on me recently." Ed sighed, being annoyed by even the memory of it.

"Wow. I never thought he could be that annoying."

"Welcome to my world." Ed muttered.

"Would you like anything else?" A new voice joined in on their conversation. Winry and Ed looked up and saw the waitress.

"Oh no, thank you." Winry said politely.

"Ok, then." The waitress picked up their empty dishes from the table. "I'll go get your bill." And with that she walked away.

Ed reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet.

"Ed, no, I'll pay for it." Winry offered.

"Too bad, then. I'm going to pay for it."

"No! I would feel guilty about letting you pay!"

"Ok then, you can feel as much guilt as you want because I'm going to pay." Ed replied calmly.

"Ed-" Winry stopped herself from yelling at him, but only because the waitress had returned.

"Here you go." The waitress held out the bill and Ed took it before Winry could. He looked at it, then took some money out of his wallet and handed it to the young waitress.

"Thank you." Ed smiled at her.

"You're welcome! Have a nice day!" The waitress smiled at Ed back, then smiled at Winry, and then left.

Winry crossed her arms in annoyance.

Ed smirked at Winry. "I win."

* * *

**Sorry it's taking me longer to update... sorry! SO SORRY!**

**OMG! DISCLAIMER: I do not own FMA, FMA Brotherhood, or any of the characters(except for Jac and the waitress). I _totally_ keep on forgetting the disclaimer! UGH!**

**So... you know... I hope you enjoyed this... I'm going to keep on updating as soon as possible... R&R... and forget about the whole next to last chapter. I have no idea when it's coming. It'll come when it comes. *deep, creepy voice* _When the time is right, it will come._**

**I hope you guys have/had an awesome summer! MERRY FOURTH OF JULY EVERYONE!**


	21. The River at Sunset

_**Disclaimer: I do not own FMA or any of the characters. (I FINALLY REMEMBERED FOR THE SECOND TIME! WOOHOO!)**_

**Chapter 21**

Winry forgot about being mad at Ed for him paying the bill after they left the cafe and were walking around town.

She dragged him from store to store and looking at all the merchandise in the window while talking about different topics such as automail, alchemy, Xing, Den, just whatever came to mind.

"Ed! Come look at this!"

"This is so cool!"

"It's beautiful! Come over here!" Winry would call from time to time.

Ed was having fun, except for the times when Winry would literally drag him to a new store. That part wasn't that fun. But other than that, Ed enjoyed seeing Winry so happy, and he also enjoyed just browsing the shops for once. When he was a dog of the military, he wouldn't have time to just browse the shops like he and Winry were doing then. He had a bit more time to do it while he was in the West, but not a whole lot.

Finally, Winry took a breath and faced Ed.

"Having fun?" Ed smirked at her.

"Yeah!" Winry smiled at him. "Hey," Winry put her hands behind her back. "Where do _you_ want to go?"

"Huh?" Ed blinked.

"We've been going to stores that I enjoy all this time, so now where do you wanna go?"

"Hmmm... I dunno." Ed tapped his chin in thought.

"Come on! There has to be somewhere you want to go."

"I don't know! I haven't been in town for ages so I don't exactly what there is here!" Ed rolled his eyes.

"Oh..." Winry put her hands on her hips. "Well... what are you interested in right now?"

"Interested?"

"Yeah. Like what are you in the mood to see right now?"

"Nothing much. I just really like seeing you happy like you are now." Ed said truthfully.

Winry tried not to blush, but her cheeks were tinted a pale pink that Ed didn't notice, thankfully. "R-really?"

Ed blushed as well. "Well... y-yeah." He quickly stretched his hands behind his head. Then he interlocked his fingers behind his neck. "So, what is there in this place, anyways?"

"I guess... not much. But it's still home." Winry smiled as she gazed around her hometown.

"Heh." Ed chuckled.

"What is it?"

"It's nothing." Ed looked at Winry. "Wait... isn't there some kind of park here, or something?"

"What? No... not really..." Winry answered.

Ed started smiling.

Winry eyed Ed suspiciously. "What is it now?"

"I think I know where I want to go now."

* * *

"Wow! I never realized how beautiful it is out here!" Winry exclaimed as she surveyed the area Ed had led her to.

They were sitting on top of the hill overlooking the river Ed, Al, and Winry used to go to. They had stopped and grabbed a quick bite to eat for dinner before going there, and by the time they got there the sun had begun to set, making the river water below them turn orange.

"Heh. I guess it is beautiful." Ed looked over at Winry who was sitting next to him. Her light blue eyes were shining, both with joy and from the light of the setting sun. Her hair was blowing gently in the warm, summer breeze. Ed couldn't help but think how beautiful she looked, not just then, but always.

Winry eyed Ed out of the corner of her eye, making him quickly turn his attention back to the river. _I have to do it. Now. If not now, then I may never get another chance like this._ Ed thought as his hands gripped the grass beneath him. _Come on..._ Ed tried to gain the courage to speak, but he couldn't do it.

Winry sneaked another glance at Ed. _What is he doing? He looks like he's about to explode. __And he's gripping the ground so hard his knuckles are turning white._ Winry thought. _It kind of looks like he wants to say something..._ Winry stifled a yawn. She and Ed had been out for most of the day, and it was evening then, so, naturally, she was tired.

Ed leaned back on his arms. "Tired?" He smiled at Winry.

Winry covered her mouth with her hand when she let out a real yawn. "Yeah. It's been a long day." Winry blinked, her eyes lingering closed before they opened again. Before she knew what she was doing, she scooted over closer to Ed and leaned against him, her head resting on his shoulder.

Ed's heart skipped a beat and his face flushed. "Winry..." He mumbled under his breath.

"Hm?" The blonde resting against him stirred slightly.

Ed released a breath he didn't realize he had been holding. He never knew how good the feel of someone else's body heat pressed against him could feel so good.

"You know," Winry muttered, just loud enough for Ed to hear, "this would have been so much more uncomfortable if you still had your automail arm."

Ed chuckled. "I guess it would be. Metal isn't exactly the most comfortable element there is."

Winry sighed. "Shut up about alchemy already, alchemy freak."

"After you shut up about automail, gear head."

"Not going to happen."

"Then I guess you're stuck with me talking about alchemy."

"Unless I kill you with my wrench..." Winry mused.

Ed smiled. "I'd like to see you try."

"Sure thing. Just wait until tomorrow when I have my wrench with me." Winry smiled as well.

"Then I wish tomorrow would never come." Ed found himself actually meaning that, and not just because of Winry's threat to kill him. It was so peaceful right then that Ed wished that day would never end, that the sun wouldn't set, forcing them to go home. Although maybe they wouldn't have to go home as soon as the sun set...

"Me too." Winry sighed in contentment.

Ed looked down at Winry. Her eyes, while not quite half-lidded, weren't quite all the way open. She wore a small smile on her face, her lips barely parted to breath in the fresh air.

It was then Ed realized how annoyed he was getting with himself.

Ed slowly moved his free arm from the ground beneath him and moved it over to Winry. His fingers landed, gently, on Winry's right cheek, the cheek farthest away from him. He tilted her head up towards him, leaned down, and kissed her.

Their first kiss really hadn't been anything more than Ed's lips placed on Winry's. But now, they were quickly melting into one. For the first second, Ed was scared when Winry wasn't kissing him back or doing anything, but then she quickly recovered from her surprise and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him back with everything she had. Ed sat up straighter and moved his right hand to the back of Winry's head with his left hand pulling her closer by her waist, which wasn't really necessary. Winry pressed herself as close to Ed as she could get, her arms gently pulling on his neck.

It was several minutes later when Ed pulled away, but only because he was out of breath. Winry's eyes opened slowly, as she was still quite surprised, after Ed had pulled away.

Ed cleared his throat. "Winry?"

Winry blinked several times to clear her head. "Yeah?" Her voice was hoarse so she cleared her throat as well. "Yes?"

"I was... um..." Ed was glad that it was getting darker so that Winry couldn't see his blush. "When I left... at the train station..." He eyed Winry to see if she knew where he was heading with this. Unfortunately, the darkness also made it hard for him to be able to tell. He thought that she looked... maybe hopeful? Or it could have been worried.

Ed swallowed. _I just have to ask her!_ "What I... and what you said..." A drop of sweat rolled down his cheek.

"Yes?" Winry prodded gently.

Ed swallowed again. "Will you still give me eighty-five percent of your life?!" He tried his best not to shout, but like that day six months ago, it came out louder than he had meant.

Silence. It was only for a moment, but that moment was the longest one in Ed's life.

Winry sighed. "No, Ed. I won't."

* * *

**...feel the pain.**

**So... just for the fun of it all... I think I'm going to wait a while before I post the next chapter. Just to let this sink in for you all and to give those of you who are reading this as I update it a good cliffhanger. **

**I do hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'm just so positive that all of you _loved_ the end! ^-^**

**R&R! And look! I REMEMBERED THE DISCLAIMER AT THE TOP! WOOHOO! MESSA SO HAPPY! I WANNA GO CELEBRATE WITH SOME ORANGE JUICE!**

**...sadly... I am banned from it... so for all of you lucky enough to not be banned from it: I hope you all enjoy it. *sob***

**MERRY SUMMER!**


	22. Wait What?

_**Disclaimer: I do not own FMA or any of the characters. Heck, I don't even own the** **scenery**_.

_Ed swallowed again. "Will you still give me eighty-five percent of your life?!" He tried his best not to shout, but like that day six months ago, it came out louder than he had meant._

_Silence. It was only for a moment, but that moment was the longest one in Ed's life._

_Winry sighed. "No, Ed. I won't."_

**Chapter 22**

_Wait... what? _Ed felt slightly dizzy. _Did... did I mishear her?_

"W-what... what did you say?" He almost whispered.

Winry sat up straighter, removing herself from being so close to Ed. "I said I won't, Ed."

But... but hadn't she kissed him back? Pulled him as close as he could be to her? Go on a date with him? And what she had said at the train station... had she changed her mind?

"Ed-" Winry began to say something, a hint of a smile dancing across her lips. But Ed didn't see the smile.

"No." Ed scooted back on the ground. "Forget about it" Ed stood up, a horrible pain in his chest.

"Ed!" Winry climbed to her knees, trying to stop Ed from leaving.

Ed didn't dare to look at Winry. Instead, he turned his back to her and began to walk away. He shoved his hands deep in his pockets and stared at the ground passing beneath him.

"ED!" Winry called out, scrambling to her feet. _Edward... _She had to say something! Anything! She had to tell him the reason why she could never give him eighty five percent of her life. But her mouth wouldn't form the words. Instead, it just hung open as Ed continued on his way, his head hung low.

She began to run. Ed still wasn't far away, so it only took her a few seconds to reach him again.

"Ed! Look at me!" She grabbed his arm and tugged at him, trying to make him face her. Instead of yielding, his muscles grew tense at her touch and he didn't budge from his spot. He didn't even stop walking or slow down his fast paced walk.

"Please! Edward!" Winry tried again. This time, Ed slowed down, but only slightly. "Listen to me, please!"

"Forget it." He took up his pace again.

Winry stopped following him. She stood there, stiff as a board, as Ed walked away from her, his back straight and his head now held up, as he had done on so many different occasions in the past.

But this time, it was her fault.

* * *

On the way home, Ed couldn't think. He tried to form different thoughts, but all he could think was, _What? _It had only seemed like he was walking for a few seconds when he tripped over the front steps, his hands now pressing hard on the wooden porch. Instead of getting up immediately, he just stayed there, his mind too blurred to even think of moving.

"What are you doing down there?"

Ed's head snapped up and he saw his brother looking down at him. "N-nothing." Ed stood up and brushed dirt off his pants.

"So?" Al smiled expectantly.

"Hm?" Ed looked confused.

Al rolled his eyes. "So, how was your date?"

Ed jammed his fists back into his pockets and looked down at the ground. "Eventful." That was true. Ed walked back up the steps, brushed past Al and walked into the house.

"Ed!" Al quickly followed his older brother into the house and grabbed him by the elbow, stopping him, and turning him around. Ed didn't look up. "Ed, what's wrong?" Al looked around. "And where's Winry?"

"She'll be here soon." Ed mumbled before pulling his arm away.

"What happened?"

"Why would you think anything happened?"

Al sighed. "You went on a date with Winry, came back without her and it's dark out. And you're in a really bad mood. So don't bother trying to say that nothing is wrong when it's clear something is wrong! Plus, I'm your brother, so I can just tell when something is wrong."

"Maybe she just wanted to walk home by herself."

"After dark?"

"Yeah."

"Ed," Al crossed his arms. "Tell me what happened!"

"Later." Ed turned and quickly went up the stairs before Al could stop him. Another second later, Al could hear the sound of a door closing.

Al rolled his eyes. "Why does Ed have to be so stubborn?!" He walked over to the door and opened it, stepping out onto the porch. He surveyed the area, but, as far as he could see in the darkness, he didn't see Winry. "Where is she?" He muttered to himself. _Ed said that she'll be here soon... but then he also said that nothing happened, so I'm guessing that he really doesn't know what Winry is doing now._

He quickly went back inside and turned on the porch light before going back outside. Al closed the door behind him and leaned against the outside wall, looking out as far as he could for Winry. He had been waiting for about fifteen minutes and he was starting to get really worried. "Winry!" He called out into the darkness, just in case. The only answer he heard was the sound of crickets.

Al rushed back into the house, up the stairs, and into his and Ed's bedroom. Ed was stretched out on his bed, his hands behind his head and his eyes closed.

"Ed!" Al walked over and stood over his older brother.

Ed opened his eyes halfway. "What?" He mumbled.

"Winry isn't back yet and it's too dark for her to be out by herself."

"Then why don't you go look for her?"

"Because it's _your_ fault she's not back in the first place!"

Ed's eyes shot all the way open and he sat up on his bed, legs dangling over the edge. "What?! How is it my fault?!"

"Because you left her out there and you knew it was getting late!" Al crossed his arms, glaring down at Ed.

"I didn't leave her out there! I just..." Ed fumbled. "I was just giving her her space! And she knows the way home from the river!"

"I don't care if she knows her way home! Fact is, you ditched her, she's not home yet, and it's night out! It may not be a fact that she didn't come home yet, but maybe she _can't_ come home! Maybe she... fell in a hole or something!" Al shouted, exasperated.

Ed scoffed. "Yeah, I'm sure she fell in a hole, Al."

"Whatever! Just go find her, already!"

"If you're so worried, why don't you go look for her?!"

"BECAUSE IT'S YOUR FAULT AND NOT MINE!"

Ed was silent. After a minute he stood up. "Fine. I'll go look for her." He muttered under his breath.

Al sighed. "Thank you."

"She's probably just being stubborn."

"Then go find out how stubborn she is."

"I already know that." Ed walked out of his room. Al could hear his footsteps on the stairs and, a few seconds after, the sound of the front door opening and closing.

Al smirked ever so slightly. Another reason that he had wanted Ed to go and not him was so that, if Winry was in trouble, Ed would be the one to save her and, hopefully, one would forgive the other for whatever was said or done. Al would have to ask Winry about what exactly had happened later.

* * *

**Ok... so... I _was_ going to do this COMPLETELY different... but... no. I'll explain why at the next A/N! AHAHAHAHAHA! ...I just felt like doing that. It's just so fun to type. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!**

**So I hope you enjoyed this! I have been getting REALLY good reviews that make me feel so appreciated, though I think that some people are exaggerating. Like, a lot. So! R&R! ^-^ And I hope all of you have had a wonderful summer so far! MERRY SUMMERZ PEOPLE! DRINK LOTS OF SUNNYD!**


	23. Not Like Planned

_**Disclaimer: I do not own FMA or any of the characters blah blah blah... so on and so forth... whatever. ENJOY! **_

**Chapter 23**

"Winry!" Ed called as he walked down the dark road, his hands in his pockets and his gaze on the ground ahead of him.

He was more worried about Winry then he had let on to Al. Of course he was, who wouldn't be worried if someone didn't return and it was night out? He didn't want to go because of their... argument? No... what was the word... misunderstanding? That was it. Ed didn't want to go look for Winry because of their misunderstanding earlier.

"Winry!" Ed stopped walking for a second to see if there was a response.

Silence.

He continued walking, this time picking up the pace a bit. What if Winry had been knocked unconscious or something and so couldn't respond? Maybe she had went over to a friends house or something. _No, she would have at least told Al if she was._ Ed reasoned.

"Winry!" Ed was close to where he had left Winry now. "Are you out here!"

"Ed?" Ed's head snapped toward the direction where the voice had come from.

"Winry? Is that you?" He took a few careful steps towards the source.

Ed heard a groan. "Yeah!"

Ed walked off of the path to where he heard Winry's voice coming from. He began walking slower as the ground began to slope beneath his feet.

"Where are you?"

"Over here!" Her voice was close.

Ed turned to his left and began walking again. It only took him a few steps before he tripped over Winry.

"Hey!" Winry groaned as Ed's foot, the automail one, connected with her stomach.

"Sorry!" He squinted, trying to see Winry through the darkness. All he could tell was that she was laying on her side, propping herself up on her elbow. "What are you even doing down there?" He took a step back and crouched down beside her.

"I tripped in a hole and sprained my ankle."

"Which ankle?"

"My left one."

"Right." Winry smiled at that. It just sounded kind of funny.

Ed inspected Winry's ankle. She winced as he gently touched her left foot. "It looks sprained, at the very least." He told Winry.

"I already said that!" Winry humphed.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Whatever." Ed chewed his lower lip. "Winry?"

"What?"

"Umm..." He stared at the ground. "You're going to have to get on my back, ok? I think it's the only way..."

Winry felt her face heat up. "O-ok." She situated herself so she didn't hurt her ankle anymore than it already was, but she was sitting on one knee.

"Here," Ed knelt down on his knees in front of Winry and bent over slightly. "Get on." He held his arms ready to grab her legs to steady her once she was on.

Winry reached over and grabbed Ed's shoulders and pulled herself onto his back. Ed grabbed her by the knees to help boost her up all the way. Once they were situated, Ed stood up, careful not to drop Winry. Without another word, Ed began to walk back up to the path.

Winry remained silent, her hands gripping Ed's shoulders, for a long time.

"Ed?" She whispered after they had been walking for a while.

Ed didn't hear her. Or, he was acting like he didn't hear her.

"Ed?" She said a bit louder.

Ed grunted. Winry decided to take that as a, "yes?"

"What I said earlier..." Winry could feel Ed tense underneath her hands, his grip on her knees tightened, and he slowed down for an instant. Winry sighed. "I'm sorry..."

"What?" Ed turned his head and glanced at her.

Winry wrapped her arms around Ed's neck and rested her chin on her elbow, her and Ed's heads barely touching. "I said I'm sorry about what I said earlier." Her breath tickled Ed's cheek.

Ed didn't reply. In his defense, he didn't reply because he didn't know how to reply to that. Also, they were nearing the house. As they got closer, Ed could see Al standing outside on the porch, waving at them as they neared.

"What happened?" Al asked worridly when Ed was at the porch.

"I just fell and sprained my ankle." Winry smiled sweetly at Al.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

Al sighed, relieved, then flashed a smirk at them. "Ok, then..." And with that, he went back inside the house.

"What's with him?" Ed asked, puzzled.

It was then that Winry noticed that she still had her arms wrapped around Ed's neck.

"Oh, umm..." Winry moved her hands back on Ed's shoulders and sat up straighter. "Can you put me down on the couch inside, please?"

"Then how will you be able to get up to your room? It's pretty late, after all." Ed pointed out, going inside the house.

"Right..." Winry sighed. She was going to tell Ed. She had to. But... what if he didn't listen? Or what if he did listen, but didn't believe her? Or maybe he... Winry shook her head. No. She wouldn't think that. She would make him listen if she had to.

"Here." Ed's voice interrupted Winry's train of thought. Looking around, Winry saw that they were in her bedroom.

"Thank you." Winry said as Ed set her down on her bed.

"Yeah." Ed stepped away from her bed and walked over to the door to leave.

"Ed, wait." Winry said. Ed stopped, but he didn't look at her. "I meant it when I said I was sorry."

"Then..." Ed bit his lip. "Then why did you say it in the first place?"

"Because it's the truth."

It's safe to say that Ed was completely confused.

"Winry... you're not making any sense..."

Winry couldn't help smiling a little at Ed's confusion. Winry pushed down on the bed and did her best to stand up. Ed looked over at her when he heard the bed creaking.

"Winry!" He was at her side in a second. "Idiot. Don't try to stand or you'll only make it worse." He gently pushed down on her shoulders till she sat back on the bed. "Just go to sleep, ok?" Ed turned to leave again.

"No." Winry grabbed Ed's sleeve. "Edward..." Winry took a deep breath. Damn. Why couldn't the words come out?

Ed turned around and looked at her. Was it... was it hope in his eyes? No... there was pain in those golden eyes staring down at Winry. Winry drew in a sharp breath. She felt like punching herself. After all Ed had been through already... she wanted to tell him like this... but it only hurt him more. She was such an idiot. Winry let go of Ed's sleeve and looked away. She opened her mouth to say something, maybe sorry, but she couldn't form any words. She couldn't even make a noise.

Ed let out a breath and turned away. "I hope you feel better tomorrow." Winry could hear Ed leaving her room. Every footstep seemed to last an eternity. But yet, it only seemed like it was an instant later when the door closed, separating the two of them.

Winry fell back on her bed and stared up at her ceiling.

_What have I done?_

* * *

**Ok... several things...**

**One: AHHH! SO SORRY IT TOOK ME SO LONG! See... I thought it was going to go one way... but then... it didn't... -.- I plan and plan but nothing ever turns out as I plan. Great. Anyways, so sorry about the long wait. I'll try not to take that long with the next chapter.**

**Two: ...Ok... this was _supposed_ to be the last chapter but... I don't think I could bring myself to end it. Not quite yet, anyways... XD. Sorry for those of you who are like,  
**

**"C'mon... KISS ALREADY! ED! JUST KISS THE GIRL YOU STUPID IDIOT! CAN'T YOU DO ANYTHING RIGHT?! GRAHHH!" But really... how many of us were like that during most(if not all) of Brotherhood? XD.**

**...I TRIED to make this the last chapter but... my fingers betrayed me. -.- I swear, they move on their own sometimes. **

**So... R&R!**

**Oh... and what do you guys think... should I try to make it longer... or try to end it as soon as possible?**


	24. An Idea?

_**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN FMA OR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS! ...heck... I can't even control my own fingers, so what makes you think I can own FMA, huh?! XD**_

**Chapter 24**

Ed really wasn't in the mood to talk just then. So of course, Al would want to talk then.

"Ok, tell me. What happened on your date with Winry, brother?" Al stood, leaning against the doorway to the bedroom with his arms crossed over his chest.

Ed made a sound that was somewhere between a grunt, a moan, and a growl. "Can you just let me go to bed, Al?" Ed reached for the doorknob, but Al took a sideways step and blocked him.

"After you tell me." Al stated. "I mean, really. You went on a date, your _first_ date with Winry I might add, and you don't come back until quite late. But when you do come back, you act as if your dog just got run over by a truck. To top it off, Winry isn't with you. Then you go and come back with Winry, and you seemed better, if only slightly. But now... you're in even a _worse_ mood then before, if that's even possible!"

Ed rolled his eyes. "Even if that was true-"

"Seriously? You're going to deny it?" Al seemed slightly amused.

Ed sighed, annoyed. "Fine then. True or not true, it doesn't involve you."

"Wow. You turned cold." **(A/N: OOC on Ed's part, I know. But... come on. Basically, he just had his heart broken. Twice, actually, if you think about it. Give the guy a break.)**

"Yeah, yeah." Ed muttered, not really listening to Al. Ed turned and started walking back towards the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Al asked.

"To the couch."

"Ed, I was only concerned about you and Winry," Al sighed, stepping away from the door so Ed could get in. However, Ed continued to the end of the hall and went down the stairs to the living room. "Ed!" Al called once more. The sound of footsteps was all Al heard. "Still as stubborn as ever..." Al sighed, shaking his head. When he lifted his head, his eyes drifted over to Winry's bedroom door. "Hmm..."

* * *

**MINI CHAPTER! IT'S SO TINY IT'S ADORABLE! XD**

**Ok um... reminder: I am beginner writer. I don't think I am capable of... what's the word... adding on to this chapter from that point? ...yes! That's it! I am incapable of the power of writing where it is obvious it is a good place to stop. ...something like that, anyways. . my head is still filled with Guitar Hero, so I can't think clearly right now. whatever.**

**...for some random reason... I feel like writing a summary of the story so far and putting it in A/N... huh. Strange... if you guys want to see that, then do tell! (it is probably going to be hilarious... I'll ask for some SunnyD[or maybe some wine... my cousins and dad have some...] before writing it if you guys want me to)**

**I WILL UPDATEZ AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! I SHALL DEFEAT WRITER'S BLOCK! ...if it's a block... why not just get an axe and chop it into firewood or something? ...*lightbulb moment* XD! Can't wait to write the next chapter already! ^-^**

**Ok, so most of you said to make the story longer... and one said to end it. . To that one person:**

_**So sorry. But I think I might make it longer. It all depends. I control my fingers at the moment, but they may take leave of me at any time. I have been tired lately, so they can control me easier. . stupid fingers. So... you can stop reading if you want, I guess... or just wait until the last chapter comes out and read that? Maybe. But whatever you do... Sorry that it may not end soon.**_

**Ok! I got that out! XD**

**MERRY SUMMER! ...wait... O_O summer is almost over... I WILL FINISH THIS STORY BEFORE SUMMER ENDS! ...I WILL TRY MY BEST, AT LEAST!**

**So... R&R!**

**...wow... the A/N is as long(maybe longer, maybe shorter) than the actual story... SORRY! LOLZ! XD**


	25. Asleep

_**Disclaimer: I do not own FMA, FMAB, the characters, the manga, the anime, the posters, the weird little keychains, the creepy little dolls, the t-shirts, etc.**_

**Chapter 25**

Ed stretched himself out on the couch in the living room. He stretched his arm so it covered his eyes, his other arm dangling off the edge of the couch.

_Everything was going so well and then..._ Ed's eyes were closed tight underneath his arm. Without really knowing it, or wanting to, he replayed what had happened on the hilltop by the river earlier that evening.**(A/N: Have any of you guys realized that it has been the same day for the past eight chapters? X3) **

_"W-what... what did you say?"_

_"I said I won't, Ed." Winry had said firmly. "Ed-"_

_"No. Forget about it."_

Ed moved his arm to his forehead and opened his eyes. _What was Winry about to say before I cut her off? And... now that I think about it..._ Ed closed his eyes again and tried to recall up every detail about that moment. Winry's had been gently blowing against her face, a few strands dancing across her mouth and chin. Her eyes were sparkling and the corners of her mouth had been turned up ever so slightly. Ed's eyes shot open. _She was... smiling? _But why would she be doing that unless... Well... it made perfect sense for her to be smiling if she was laughing at him... Ed quickly erased the thought from his mind. _No, Winry would never laugh at someone like that._ _She's much too nice for that._

"Ed?" A familiar voice came from the stairway.

**(AND POV SWITCH! ...also a little bit of a backtrack.)**

Al's hand hovered in front of Winry's door. If Ed was that bad of a mood... then what kind of mood was Winry in? Maybe he should get a helmet first... he had no desire to get whacked in the head with Winry's wrench. But Winry may not appreciate that act. Al drew in a sharp breath and knocked lightly on Winry's door.

"Winry?" He leaned in towards the door. "Winry? Can I come in?"

No answer.

"Winry?" Al said a bit louder. "I'm coming in, ok?"

Still no reply.

Al grabbed the doorknob and opened the door, taking a side step in and closing the door behind him. Winry was sitting at her desk, her head laying on the surface. Scattered about her were nuts and bolts and random bits of automail.

Al walked over to her and placed a hand gently on her shoulder. "Winry?" Still no answer. Al gently shook her shoulder. When she still didn't respond, Al smiled slightly. "She fell asleep..." He muttered to himself. _Should I wake her?_ Looking down at her face, Al noticed that there were damp stains on her left cheek. _She was crying?_ Al was surprised. What on earth was going on around here?! **(A/N: if it doesn't make sense why she's crying, just PM me and I can explain.)** Al sighed. He turned her chair around a bit and scooped the sleeping mechanic up in his arms. He walked over to her bed and gently placed her down. He softly pulled the blankets down from underneath her and pulled them back up to her neck.

Al left Winry's room, closing the door softly behind him. Should he go and try to talk to Ed again? Or should he wait until morning when Winry was awake? Or should he even just back out of the situation all together? Al groaned. No one was telling him anything of what was going on. Last he checked, everything was going fine between Ed and Winry and they were going on their date. And now, Ed's sleeping on the couch and Winry had most likely cried until she fell asleep. She was probably trying to work on automail to distract herself so she could clear her head and be able to think of something to do, but it hadn't worked.

Al was about to groan again, but a yawn overtook him before he could. It was late and he was tired. Maybe he could think of something tomorrow after a good night's sleep. But, hopefully, he wouldn't have to because Ed thought of something. Or Winry. Or maybe someone would tell him what in sanity was going on. Al stifled another yawn. He would have to worry about this tomorrow.

* * *

**Yeahhhh! NEXT MINI CHAPTER DOWN! XD. This one wasn't THAT mini... I think.**

**Thank you Ghibli Ninja for your hilarious reviews. XD. Also thank you Jaclynkaliegh, Animecontrol, DonutKnightz, Berribex112, and Esmeralda I for your constant(or at least more than one. XD) reviews!  
**

**And you guys wanted my summary of story so far... WARNING: Right now I am trying to blink away tears from being near my dad chopping onions, and I am tired after playing with my cousins for the weekend. This may not be my best work ever. Sue me. HERE YOU GO:**

_Ed came home to Resenbool six months after he left, and somehow ended up in Winry's bed, and Winry was so happy she hit him with wrench multiple times. Then Winry almost saw Ed naked and a little girl tried to admit Winry liked Ed. Then Pinako and Ed fought like always and then Ed and Winry fought and then Winry started checking Ed out while he was shirtless. Then we found out that Winry and Al were doing writing each other about, probably, something embarrassing, that she didn't want Ed to see, so it was probably stuff about him. Ed then destroyed Winry's room to find the letters and Winry felt like killing him. Later, Ed gave Winry some pie that was too sweet and Winry gave Ed some 'sweet stuff' back by kissing him on the cheek! Al came home and Ed and he went to go do complicated alchemy stuff, which resulted in Al blowing up his clothes, but he himself was unharmed. Then Winry's friend, Jac, came over and said that Ed was hot while Ed was keeping the girls out of his and Al's bedroom as Al was still naked. She left after blowing Ed a kiss, which he didn't see, leaving Winry mad at her. Ed then had a talk with Al about Mei, which he found out that they may or may not have been dating. Then when Ed was working on fixing porch boards, he and Winry accidentely kissed, which led to Ed kissing Winry on his free will a second later. Ed then apologized for kissing Winry and she slammed the door in his face. Ed, after a talk from Al, then saw that he was an idiot and he tried to make it up to Winry by cleaning her workshop and taking her on a picnic._

**Ok... not all done... but I realized that my summary isn't that funny. Sorry about that. . and... o.e. I never realized how much stuff happened! And this is the short version of my summary! ...wow...**

**Oh! And... as of two days ago... I HAVE OVER 10,000 VIEWS OF THIS STORY! WOOT WOOT! Right now, it's 10,808 views! OMG! SO COOL! ...and then I realized... I have over 10,000 views on my story... meaning... over 10,000 people have read my story... o.e and then I started freaking out... O.e THAT'S MORE PEOPLE THAN IN ALL THE TOWNS I'VE EVER LIVED IN ALL MY LIFE COMBINED(that I remember)! AND THAT'S FIVE TOWNS! O.e**

**SO THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR VIEWS, REVIEWS, FOLLOWS, FAVORITES, AND ALL THAT STUFF! :D I'll update as soon as I can! R&R!**


	26. Miniscule Gnat

_**Disclaimer: I do not own FMA, or FMAB. All the characters belong to... uh... the guy that wrote FMAB.**_

**Chapter 26**

_"Ed?" A familiar voice came from the stairway._

Ed sat up and turned to look who had called him.

"Pinako!" Ed said surprised. "What are you doing up so late?"

"I was awakened by some ruckus, so I came to see what was going on in my house." Pinako had apparently left her pipe behind.

"Yeah... sorry. That was me and Al."

"Of course it was." She said it like she knew exactly what had happened. Ed wouldn't really have been that surprised if she did. "What were you two doing?" Ok, maybe she didn't know.

"Talking." Ed shrugged.

Awkward silence.

"Edward. Do me a favor and go get some more firewood tomorrow."

"Are you serious?" Ed asked, surprised. "It's the middle of summer and super hot out there! Why on earth do you need firewood?!"

"For fire."

"AND WHY DO YOU NEED A FIRE?!"

"JUST GET THE FIREWOOD TOMORROW YOU MINUSCULE GNAT!"

"WHY DO YOU STILL CALL ME SHORT YOU SHRIMP OF AN OLD HAG?!"

"BECAUSE YOU ARE SHORT!"

"I AM NOT! YOU HAVE TO GET ON A LADDER JUST TO LOOK ME IN THE EYE!"

"THAT'LL BE THE DAY!"

"IT IS THE DAY!" Ed glared at the little old lady. He was now sitting up with his arms crossed over his chest in anger.

"Just get the firewood or all you'll get to eat for the next week is milk."

Ed looked like he was about ready to throw up at that threat. "All right! I'll get you firewood so you can melt yourself even smaller!" And with that he laid back down on the couch, glaring at the ceiling as if he was trying to blow a hole in it with his mind.

Pinako gave a huff and turned to leave the room. "It'll do you some good to get out and about. So take your time doing it."

"Yeah, yeah." Ed muttered.

Pinako left the room, leaving a fuming Ed behind.

* * *

**OMG! I SO SORRY! SO SORRY SO SORRY SO SORRY! IT TOOK ME FOREVER TO WRITE THIS! O.e**

**My writing pace was like, two sentences every two weeks. My dad, who hates the fact that I write(even just read) fanfiction was like, "...nice pace you have going there," when I told him how fast I was writing.**

**I have no idea why I could write now. Maybe because I'm tired(...I'm tired... so I can write? Don't ask me how it works). Or maybe because I was finally able to stab someone after so long. *sighhh* that felt so good... although it was his fault. He took my book while I had a fork in my hand. Not a smart move.**

**Anyways, I be sorry. Yell at me all you like. But I probably will just laugh. and laugh. and laugh. and cough. and laugh.**

**School started a week ago, so the next few chapters(or how many chapters are left. don't ask me how many because I have no clue. go ask Edward or Winry or someone who knows.) will come out slower... as if this chapter didn't come out slow enough. -.-**

**And this year I have Latin, and I heard that there's a decent amount of homework from there... and I HATE LATIN! GRAHHH! ...oh dangit... I forgot... I HAVE TO MEMORIZE THOSE DANG 11 WORDS! AHHHH! O.e Lordie help me.**

**So I hope you enjoyed this! R&R! I will update as soon as possible! ...or I'll try... SO SORRY AGAIN!**

**(P.S. Yes. I know this is a short chapter. It was either this or nothing. Be glad or be mad. Whatever works for you.)**

**UPDATE: oh yeah! I so forgot to say this... have any of you realized that Pinako is like not in this story... at all... she was innnnn... chapter three, I think? and then mentioned again when Ed and Winry were on silent mode... I think... and then never showed up again... so I was like, "I feel so bad Pinako! You should be in this story more! after all, it's _your_ house, after all!" ...what does she do all day long... just... read and puff on her pipe? fix automail? ...huh. Who knows? not me, for one. -.-**


	27. Choppin' Wood

_**Disclaimer: We all know that I don't own FMA or FMAB. That is why this is called **_**FAN**_**fiction.**_

**Chapter 27**

Winry opened her eyes and saw her ceiling. _Huh...? What..._ Her memory was a blur from last night. Last she remembered was she was sitting at her desk... and then... she think she fell asleep, but she must have gone to her bed before she did. Huh.

She sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes. She groaned when her head pulsed. Great. She just woke up and she had a headache already. Winry felt that it was going to be a bad day.

* * *

Ed woke up on the floor, his face pressed hard against the edge of the couch. He groaned and rolled over, sitting up and rubbing his cheek where a bruise was sure to be. Looking over at the window, he saw that the sun was barely up. Strange. He normally slept till later. Oh well.

Ed didn't bother to stifle a enormous yawn that crept up on him. Right. The old hag wanted him to go chop some firewood for heaven knows what. Ed slowly stood up and stretched his arms above his head, letting out another enormous yawn. Now where was that hatchet... Ed's gaze turned towards the kitchen. Eh. He'll chop wood after some breakfast.

He walked the short distance to the kitchen and looked to see what was in the fridge. There was some leftovers from Al and Pinako's dinner last night, all he would have to do was heat it up. But somehow, he got an idea to cook. It was never really his thing, and he hadn't really cooked much before... or ever. All he had really done was watch someone else cook from time to time and eat the food they cooked. Lots of eating. But it couldn't hurt to give it a shot, right?

_Now lets see here..._ Ed leaned over, peering all over the fridge. _Eggs should be easy enough, right? Maybe some toast too..._

* * *

Winry took a quick shower and by the time she was done, her headache was completely gone. That's one good thing at least. Winry sighed. _I really messed it up with Ed, didn't I..._ She closed her bedroom door behind her and leaned against it. Her eyes looked over at the door across the hall. He should be right behind that door... all she would have to do was go and explain herself, or at least apologize... _all? Knowing Ed, he would probably be the stubborn idiot he is and try to ignore me and anything I said... _Winry almost smiled at that, but she couldn't manage it.

Winry sighed again, but inhaled something else. It smelt like something burning...

* * *

Eggs were simple, right?

Wrong. Not simple.

Ed thought so at least. _The miniature hag wanted firewood... well... maybe she'll be happy with skipping the wood and getting the fire._ Ed was trying to beat the fire out on the stove with a rag.

"GAHH!" Ed yelled when the fire only blazed higher. What were you supposed to do again? Ed felt like screaming in frustration. All the heat and smoke was making it hard for him to think straight! Ed coughed. Plus it was hard to breathe. _Maybe I'm supposed to-_ Ed tried to think, but was cut short._  
_

"ED!" Winry's yell came from behind him. "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!"

Ed tried to shout at her to get out of there, but he only managed to cough harder. Winry noticed and started to run over to him, the heat from the fire was too much for her.

"Get... _cough cough_ out of... _cough_ here... _cough_... NOW!" Ed managed to say, taking a step towards Winry, most likely to push her away.

"IDIOT!" Winry yelled, either not hearing what Ed had said or just choosing to ignore him. "WHAT WERE YOU DOING?!"

"GET OUT!" Ed said without coughing. He covered his hand with his mouth, trying not to inhale more smoke than he already had.

Winry took a few more steps towards the heat, and towards Ed as well, and grasped his sleeve. After a second, she started coughing too, but not nearly as hard as Ed was. She started dragging him away from the fire and into the living room. There was still smoke, but it wasn't nearly as much as there was in the kitchen. By then, Al had already come downstairs still in his pajamas.

"What's going on?!" He practically shouted.

"There's... a fire..." Ed tried to say, but with all his coughing, it came out more of '_Air o' fur_'

"Fire..." Winry choked out. "Kitchen's on fire..."

Al's eyes went wide. He looked at Ed who was still coughing. Obviously he was in no condition to help. "Get Pinako and get out of here! I'll try to put the fire out."

Winry nodded and started towards the stairs as Al ran into the kitchen. Before she got to the stairs, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Get out... now." Ed said, his coughing finally settling down somewhat. "I'll... get Pinako."

"No! You're in way worse shape than I am! Just get out and get some fresh air! We'll be fine!" Winry insisted, brushing his hand aside and continuing towards the stairs.

However, Ed shoved her to the side as gently as he could and ran past her up the stairs, coughing all the way. Winry decided to let him get Pinako and to get out herself. She could yell at him later. When she got outside, she ran away from the house aways and turned to look back. Smoke was pouring out of the kitchen windows and streaming out of the main door. Winry wanted to go get water from somewhere, when she fell to the ground in a fit of coughing. She had inhaled too much smoke to be good.

Looking up, she could see Dean running out of the house with Pinako close behind. Winry held her breath**(A/N: which can't be all that good considering all the smoke she inhaled... just saying.)** and waited, scanning to see Ed and Al come out of that door. Finally, after what seemed like a lifetime, she saw a figure emerging from the smoke...

Al came running out, a wet rag over his mouth.

"AL!" Winry shouted, getting up and going towards him.

"The fire's out..." Al was coughing too, but not as bad as Winry was. "But I can't... get rid of the smoke... we just have... to wait."

Winry had caught up to him by now. "Al! Where's Ed?!"

Al looked up. "I thought he was out here with you!" Worry filled his golden eyes.

Winry faced the house.

"ED!"

* * *

**Ok, first off...**

**WOULD YOU ALL STOP THINKING I DIED?! SERIOUSLY!**

**Oh and would you look at that... I finally got more than 1,000 words on the story for the first time innnn... a lot of chapters. XD**

**Ok, so this chapter is to symbolize to me burning up my stupid writers block. YEAHHHHHH! ...at first... it was supposed to be with Ed chopping wood(also to symbolize chopping up my writers block) but... uhh... I'm not too sure what happened... Ed was hungry... and... I don't know what happened. I like never know what happened. Seriously. I looked back at a few of my previous chapters and I'm like, "...what... WHAT?! WHAT THE HECK IS THIS! I HAVE NO MEMORY OF THIS!" o.e.  
**

**Oh, and just a little funny story... the night I published the last chapter, I wrote a report on how to make a pencil for school. Well. I was reading it to the class aloud(against my will) and at the end it said, "I hope you enjoyed this guide! Please read and review!" and I'm like, "...whaaaaa... why did I... I didn't put that there..." XD The class was puzzled at that... and I still don't know where the part about the eraser that I could've sword I put in the report got to...**

**Well... I hope you enjoyed this chapter! R&R! ^-^**

_**P.S: If any of you see a video on youtube with a guy singing opera style about how to shave a cat, that came from my school.**_


	28. SO SORRY! again

**Ok, I am so sorry about the delay... again. **

**My writing 'muse' for this fanfiction went on vacation to Hawaii with my ability to sleep. Then he came back and told me that he's planning on going on a world tour. He actually only came back enough for me to write... a stupid school essay. T_T then he grabbed a 'English to Spanish' Dictionary and left. T_T who knows when he'll get back.**

**Plus... I'm banned from computer. How I write this, you may ask? I am sneaking it in the middle of school. Teacher in the room, actually. And two other students... and a mom of one of the students. I'm the only girl too. T_T**

**I told my bff that I left this fanfiction when there was a fire... and Ed was stuck in the house... and she nearly died laughing.**

**"They're going to hate you!"**

**me: "...yeah... I know..."**

**XD BYE! SO SORRY AGAIN!**


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